Come What May
by Lady Evenstar
Summary: After a grueling ordeal with the shrieking shack, MWPP/L travel to France for winter vacation. There, thier lives are changed forever, and now it's GRADUATION TIME!!! LAST CHAPTER! Has L/J and S/R.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Yes, another Harry Potter Fan Fiction! Being as how it seems I've read a lot of them, I decided that I'd try my own. This story is mainly a James/Lily fic but it may also have some Remus/ Sirius, so let me just say I warned you ahead of time! This takes place in thier seventh year. R&R! Luv you guys! ~ Lady Evenstar  
  
Italics = thoughts  
  
Disclaimer: To the demise of myself and advantage of Ms. Rowling, Harry Potter (and all characters not as important) do not belong to me. The quote in the beginning is from Moulin Rouge, and that also (*sob*) does not belong to me.  
  
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1 The greatest thing  
  
You'll ever learn  
  
Is just to love  
  
And be loved in return…  
  
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The Marauders. A secret group of four friends, dedicated to mischief and adventure. It is these four friends who will become the founders of one of the greatest legends ever told in the wizarding world. First, there's Sirius Black- the troublemaker of the group. No one's ever quite sure how, but even if he did something really horrible- like sneaking into the kitchens to 'accidentally' drop various potions into the Professors' food- he never gets caught. Of course he's *suspected*. He's just too brilliant to take the blame. Along with his amazing sense of humor and dark good looks, Sirius is one of the most popular of the group (especially with the girls).  
  
Next is Remus Lupin. In appearance, he's not very remarkable, having a slight build and brown hair. However, he is more than he seems; he's a werewolf. Used to being discriminated against, he keeps it a secret from the school, but his cover is blown and thus he becomes the sole catalyst for the Marauders. He's generally shy and sensitive, but because of his friendship with the fellow Marauders he has become one of the more popular people in Hogwarts.  
  
Thirdly, there's little Peter Pettigrew. Not a particularly bright person, and short and chubby. However, his hero-worship of the friends has caused him to become a part of their group, though he's never really one of the guys.  
  
Last but not least, is James Potter. Gryffindor's Head Boy, Captain of the Quidditch team (in which he plays Seeker), and an all-around great guy, there is not a soul in Hogwarts who hasn't heard his name. No one would guess that he grew up an orphan- his parents were killed on an expedition to Samalia (A/N: I just assumed he was, because then Harry would have stayed with James' parents). His hair was as dark as midnight, and his eyes equally so, with glasses and warm colored skin, James posssesed great beauty.  
  
But where would the story be without mentioning the one woman who nearly tore them all apart? Lily Williams. Her beauty was fabled among the wizards, and nearly all who looked upon her would agree that she was a virtual goddess, an angel who descended the heavens for a time to walk the earth. Her skin was pale and smooth, her hair vibrant red, creating a lovely picture. But perhaps her best feature was her eyes, a crystal clear green that could burn your soul and reveal your self at its deepest levels.  
  
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"Was that you?" murmed a voice.  
  
"Ouch! No, watch where you're stepping! By tommorow morning my feet are gonna be…" whined a second.  
  
"Shush, both of you, someone might hear us…" snapped a third.  
  
"What was that?" cried a fourth.  
  
"SHHH!" hissed the third. "We're almost there."  
  
At the edge of the Forbidden Forest, four teenage boys seemingly appeared out of nowhere, moments before sundown.  
  
"Finally!" cried the second voice, which now belonged to Sirius "It's so bloody hot under that thing. Invisibility cloaks were *not* made for four people."  
  
"With all your noise, it's a wonder we weren't caught" scolded the third, which, apparently, belonged to James.  
  
"Yea, yea…"  
  
"You guys, you know you can back out now if you want..." said the first.  
  
"Oh, Remus you say that every time. We're not going to ditch you. Stop being such a nice guy," said Sirius. "It sickens me," he added with a grin.  
  
"Are you sure the Forest is such a good idea?" murmered the fourth, Peter.  
  
"It's an *adventure*!" cried Sirius, jumping up and down and being way too loud "For God's sake, Peter, don't you ever have fun!"  
  
"It's not that!" yelled Peter "It's just…"  
  
"Shhh!" hushed Remus, but too late.  
  
"Hello?" bellowed a voice from the shack nearby "Anybody there?"  
  
"It's Hagrid!" cried James. The boys panicked - they weren't supposed to be out by the Forbidden Forest. "Transform!" They turned quickly into their alternate forms without taking the appropriate precautions- they usually checked to see if anyone was watching, but tonight they were too rushed to care.  
  
And suddenly, in their stead were three animals: A giant, bear- like dog, Sirius, a Stag, James, and a rat, Peter. Remus was stuck, because the sun had not yet gone down. However, he quickly leapt onto the stag's back as they ran off into the forest.  
  
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"Didja see that?" cried Hagrid "They turned into animals, jus' like that!"  
  
For unbeknownst to the boys, Hagrid and his guest had been looking out of the window as they transformed.  
  
"Yes, Hagrid, I saw," said Lily, disbelief in her voice. So that's where James went, when she couldn't find him. He had continually made up excuses, like he was studying, or helping Peter with a project, or practicing, when she asked him about it. But he wasn't. He was doing *this*. It also explained why he had spent five years laboring over books, researching spells that had to do with the animagus. She felt awe wash through her. To perform the animagus spell…that took brains. Though she didn't doubt that James would be able to do it. He had always been brilliant, ever since the first year. Brilliant, and talented, and so sensitive…when he looked at her, he did not lust and drool over her as most men did . Instead, she found respect and warmth in his gaze. Not like Severus. Oh, she hated him, and his greasy hair. He was totally disgusting, and she was well aware of his crush on her. She, however, wanted nothing to do with him, and often found excuses to be away from him. As for she and James… over the years, they had become fast friends, and he knew her as no one else did, or ever will. He was friends with her for *her*, not because he wanted her affections, and she respected him for that. And loved him for that. Lily shook herself. Where did that come from?  
  
"Who'dye think they were?" asked Hagrid.  
  
"You didn't see?"  
  
"Nah, couldn't catch their faces."  
  
Lily stopped. That's right, she didn't see his face, but she could recognize James from a mile away. Should she tell Hagrid it was him? He could get into trouble…  
  
"I couldn't see either. How about some more tea Hagrid?"  
  
"All righ'"said Hagrid "An' wouldya mind goin' over tha' charms lesson again?"  
  
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That night, however, Lily and Hagrid weren't the only ones watching the Marauders. Deep in the shadows, a cloaked figure smiled grimly to himself. I could get them kicked out of Hogwarts forever, smirked Severus Snape.  
  
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So, that's it for Chapter one. It's a really long introductory, I know, but it gets better! Promise! Stick with me peoples! Now… dun dun dun… Snape knows! What'll happen? I'll post soon! Questions? Comments? Reviews? Don't be mean… 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: To the demise of myself and advantage of Ms. Rowling, Harry Potter (and all characters not as important) do not belong to me.  
  
"James?" As soon as he heard the voice he could recognize it. He turned and saw Lily weaving her way through the crowds of people heading to breakfast, her red-gold hair flying in curls behind her. He stopped so she could catch up with him, and admired once again at how wonderful she was. "Good Morning, Lily." he said as she stood panting in front of him. She laid a hand on his arm, and an electric shock traveled through his body "We need to talk, James," she said, looking seriously up at him. God, but those eyes are beautiful. His expression must have betrayed what he was thinking then, because she screwed up her face and asked, "Are you alright?". He mentally shook himself and answered with a small grin "Maybe just a little tired".  
  
"Oh. Up late helping Peter again?"  
  
It was something in the way she said it, that made him stop and peer at her. He wished he could tell her, about the Marauders, but they all were sworn to secrecy. And besides, he didn't know how she would react to Remus' being a werewolf, and he didn't want to hurt his friend. "Yea, another project. You know Peter". Her cheeks flushed and she looked away, and immediately knew that somehow he had hurt her instead. "James, you know you can trust me," she said, her voice disappointed.  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"You know perfectly well what I mean."  
  
"No, I don't…"  
  
"I saw you! Last night, I saw you!" she cried.  
  
He looked at her, surprised. She knew. She knew already. Now what?  
  
"Look, we can't talk about this here. Miss breakfast with me, and let's go back to the common room." Reluctantly, she nodded.  
  
"James!" called Sirius from the entrance to the hall "You coming?" Remus was peering over his shoulder, and Peter was already eating.  
  
"I'll catch up with you later."  
  
"Alright, your loss."  
  
******************  
  
As the common room door closed behind them, James whirled angrily on her. "How did you see us? You weren't spying?"  
  
"No, I wasn't…" she said wearily. Maybe confronting James hadn't been such a good idea. She had her secrets too. "Look," she sighed "I was at Hagrid's. That's when I saw. Lucky Hagrid didn't recognize you, or you could have gotten in big trouble!"  
  
He looked suddenly pale, and his beautiful dark eyes looked at her, full of remorse and fear. "I'm sorry Lily. I shouldn't have suspected you." Then: "I TOLD them they were being too loud."  
  
"Can I have an explanation now?" she asked.  
  
"Well, since first year, Sirius and Peter and I decided that we were going to become animagi. Thus, all my studying. And, in fifth year we succeeded, and have been sneaking around the grounds since then."  
  
"But why did you decide? And what about Remus? He didn't change." James looked hesitant. He stood there for a few seconds, running his hand through his hair and fiddling with his glasses. It was a sign that he was nervous, she'd noticed. He always looked adorable when he did that, too.  
  
"You said I could trust you?"  
  
"Cross my heart and hope to die" smiled Lily.  
  
"And promise you'll listen with an open mind? And not make judgements?"  
  
"Of course."  
  
"Well, Remus he's…he's a werewolf"  
  
Lily sat silent for a few seconds. She had guessed that before, seeing as how he always disappeared around the full moon, and had always come back looking horrible. That is, until fifth year. Because…  
  
"You guys changed into animagi to keep him company," Lily stated.  
  
James nodded "Since we couldn't be with him as humans, we're with him as animals."  
  
Lily smiled. "I think that's sweet."  
  
"So you're not freaked out about it?"  
  
"No. Remus is a perfectly nice guy. Not like the rest of you lot," she teased, "And don't worry. Your secret is safe with me."  
  
James looked thoroughly relieved "Thanks, Lily".  
  
"So, who's who? I saw a bear, a rat, and a deer."  
  
"Not a bear, a dog, just a really big one. That's Sirius. And the rat is Peter…"  
  
"That figures" smirked Lily  
  
"…and I," he said with a particularly smug grin "am a stag."  
  
Lily laughed, peals of it echoing off the common room walls.  
  
"What?" asked James, who had gone from looking smug to flustered.  
  
"Nothing," gasped Lily, "it's just I know you *way* too well. A stag, most noble and fleetest of all the creatures? Definitely James Potter," she finished, giggling. Suddenly, Lily felt a hand caress her cheek, sending shivers down her spine. Her eyes met James', which were burning with a bright internal fire. Suddenly, he no longer resembled the friend that she had known for so long. "James?" she asked, trying to keep her voice from quavering too much, and failing horribly.  
  
"Lily," he said, his voice husky, strange and foreign to her ears, but not unpleasant. If he repeated her name for an eternity, just like that, she knew she'd be happy. A strange, fuzzy feeling filled her head. "You are so beautiful, when you laugh like that," he murmured, "don't ever lose that." Lily tried to respond, but choked on the lump rising in her throat. Then slowly, ever so slowly, James' mouth descended upon hers, until she could feel his hot breath on her face. Time itself stopped. Warm, rough lips caressed hers, and she felt herself responding. They moved together, her hands entangling in his hair, his hands caressing the small of her back. Fireworks exploded in her head. She began to open her mouth for him…  
  
"So that's why you two skipped breakfast! To come up here and snog!" the cheerful voice of Sirius Black interrupted. James and Lily leapt apart, and she was sure her face was as bright red as James'.  
  
"Breakfast just finished," said Remus with an apologetic shrug and a rueful smile. "we figured we'd better come get you or you'd be late to class. We didn't know you were…uh…"  
  
"Making out?" supplied Sirius "Where's a camera when you need it?"  
  
"Oh, go on, Sirius," growled James, "we'll catch up"  
  
"Why? So you can…" But Sirius' sentence was never finished, as Remus had already shoved him out into the hall.  
  
Lily looked shyly up at James, feeling particularly awkward. "We'd better get to class"  
  
James smiled "Yea, McGonagall will have a fit" Then, he took her hand and together they walked out of the Common room into the hallway, stealing glances at each other and smiling, acknowledging that their friendship had grown into something more. Never in her life had Lily been happier.  
  
"Just one thing. Why were you at Hagrids?" asked James.  
  
Lily looked at him "Can you keep a secret too?"  
  
He smiled "Cross my heart and hoped to die."  
  
She giggled "I'm helping him learn more advanced magic."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yes, but you can't tell. He could get into a lot of trouble. He's not supposed to do magic, you know. They broke his wand and everything."  
  
"Then how…"  
  
"I gave him my old pink umbrella, and we put the pieces together inside of it. Works quite well, actually."  
  
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Disgusting. That's what it was. The way they kept looking at each other and holding hands, walking down the hallway. Why does she even like him? His ego is so big he could suffocate people with it. He thinks he's so perfect, because he's head boy and captain of the Quidditch team. She should me mine. She is mine. Or soon will be.  
  
Snape edged his way up behind the couple. "Great trick last night, Potter," he hissed, "mind divulging to me just *how* you managed it?"  
  
Potter looked back at him, disgust written all over his face "What are you talking about, Snake?"  
  
"Ha! You know perfectly well what I'm talking about," he sneered, "don't play dumb with me. I wonder, are you registered? I'm sure Dumbledore would be interested to know."  
  
His look of contempt, he was delighted to see, had vanished. "You wouldn't!"  
  
"Oh, but I would. I don't want you thinking I would do any favors for the likes of you. However, we may be able to negotiate, if you catch my meaning."  
  
"Negotiate?" The look of disgust was back. However, Snape ignored him and turned to Lily, running a hand through her hair. She jerked away immediately. "You look quite beautiful today, Lily."  
  
Potter, for once, caught on immediately. Just like him to be perceptive when hormones were involved. "No!"  
  
Lily glanced at him, then at me. "What are the terms?" she asked.  
  
"Lily, no, you can't!" cried James.  
  
"Hush, James. I promised to keep your secret." She looked at me. "Go on."  
  
"The terms are quite simple, my dear. Lose him, and date me."  
  
She was silent for a few moments, James seething away beside her. "You can't Lily! I don't care if we're caught! Lily…"  
  
"May I have time to think?"  
  
"Snake!" cried a voice behind him. Great. That Black prat. "How've you been? Washed your hair recently?" Then: "How about I give you a hand?"  
  
Before he could react, he was drenched in a bucket of water that had been magically dumped over his head  
  
"That's for sticking your huge nose in other people's buissness."  
  
Snape seethed. "Yes, you may have time to think, Lily. However, it might do you good to stick with those of your own kind. You *know* what I mean." And with that, he stormed off to change before he went to class.  
  
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"No magic in the hallways!" cried Filch, and with that he strode off dragging Sirius by the ear.  
  
"What did Snape mean by that?" asked James.  
  
Lily just shook her head mutely, the blood draining from her face. How could he? How *could* he? On the verge of tears, Lily ran from James without giving an answer, and slid into a stall in the girls bathroom. Everything had been so perfect. Why did Snape have to ruin it? Why did he ruin her only chance at happiness?  
  
A/N: What was Snape talking about? You'll just have to wait until the next chapter (*laughs evilly*). Thanks for all the great reviews you guys! They really mean a lot, seeing as how this is my first fic. And, to Scarlett**Eyes, I'll read your fic as soon as I get the time. I promise! (Do you know, school and homework are a pain in the a**?) Also, recently it has come to my attention that Lily's last name is not Williams, but Evans. However, due to just plain laziness, I'm not changing it. Sorry ^-^;! 


	3. Chapter 3

   
  
   
  
Disclaimer: To the demise of myself and advantage of Ms. Rowling, Harry Potter (and all characters not as important) do not belong to me.  
  
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*Flashback*  
  
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It was the end of the first year at Hogwarts. Lily stood smiling and laughing with her newfound friends on platform 9 3/4, happy to be going home, but saddened at the thought of losing all those she had become close with for a whole summer. One by one, she bid them goodbye, as their parents came and picked them up. First one hour went by, then two, until it was just her left standing on the platform. Worry and dread filled her stomach. Why hadn't her parents come to pick her up yet?  
  
She lugged her trunks out onto the street, and signaled for a taxi. It was a particularly windy day for June, and her hair flew about her face as she climbed into the cab. "Number Four, Privet Drive, if you please." She stared out the window at the English countryside as they drove, watching the dead leaves and trash twirl in a whirlwind. Her thoughts spun just as fast in her head. Had they forgotten her? Or did something happen?  
  
As they pulled up onto Privet drive, Lily's worst fears were realized. "No," she breathed "NOOOO!" The driver looked at her strangely. "What's the matter, honey? Bring ya to the wrong place?" For unseen to his Muggle eyes, the Dark Mark hung above Number Four, Privet Drive. Lily leapt from the cab, tears streaming from her eyes. "HEY! Ya gonna pay?"  
  
But the driver went unheeded, as Lily flew up the path and flung open the door. She stopped, surprised at what she saw. It looked the same. Everything was pristine and perfect, nothing touched at all. It was just as she remembered it, before she went to Hogwarts. If the Dark Mark hung above her house, shouldn't it look as if a scuffle had taken place?  
  
A sob resounded from the corner. Lily spun, and saw Petunia, knees pulled up to her chest, face buried in her arms, and a mutilated telephone in her hand. "Petunia?"  
  
"Get away from me!" she sobbed.  
  
Lily was taken aback. Petunia and her had never had a warm relationship, but never had she displayed the kind of hatred that was coloring her voice now.  
  
"You freak! This is your entire fault! This would have never happened if it weren't for you! Witch! You're all the same...all...all..."  
  
"Where are they?" demanded Lily, her voice tense.  
  
Slowly, Petunia pointed to the ceiling. Lily turned and ran, feet echoing in the deathly silence of the stairwell. She looked at the upstairs hallway. Nothing. She ran, throwing open doors as she went. Nothing, nothing, nothing. She came to her parents' bedroom, and tried the door. It was locked. "Alohamora," she murmured. It opened this time… but she wished it hadn't. Her father lay crumpled on the floor, and her mother was standing, wrists binded, with a wand to her throat. Lord Voldemort's wand. She looked upon the deathly pale face, the red slitted eyes, and the bony fingers; he was more horrible than even the newspapers described. He looked like a monster, and she couldn't imagine him ever once being human. She would have screamed, but she would not allow herself to show weakness in front of him. "Lily, my dear," it hissed, reminding her greatly of a snake "I have been waiting for you."  
  
"W-waiting...for me?"  
  
"Yes. I have heard of your beauty, and they have not lied. For beautiful you are. At first I was going to kill your family and forcibly take you, but I believe a willing servant is better than one who plots to slit your throat as soon as you turn your back, yes? So, I have a deal to make with you. Join me, my precious, and your beloved parents live. However, any wrong move and I will . And as long as you remain my willing servant, I will spare your family." He chuckled, a high, evil warble that made her shiver. "If I should come back, make sure your sister doesn't try to call for help again, or believe me, she will end up with more than a mutilated telephone."  
  
"And what if I refuse?"  
  
"Ahh. And if you refuse, I will kill your parents, right now, and take you forcibly. Either way, you are mine."  
  
Lily looked at her mother. She was pale, and her face was stained with tears. She looked nothing like the woman she had known, always warm and smiling. Her Mother's eyes begged her /don't do it, Lily/.  
  
Then her eyes wandered to her father. The same man who had always been strong, who had carried her on his shoulders, looked almost dead laying there on the floor.  
  
She choked down a sob. Her parents had sacrificed so much for her. Her family had never been rich, and they had struggled to come up with the money to send  
  
her to Hogwarts. Once, she had confronted them about this, yet they just smiled at her and said "Money is not important. *You* are. We're so proud of you honey, and we want you to succeed."  
  
Then she looked at Voldemort again. If she gave herself up, she would have to spend the rest of her days as a servant, a slave, to him. But it also meant that her parents could live on, happy and free. And she wanted that for them. She loved them dearly, and she knew it would break her if anything should happen to them. They had given up so much for her happiness… now she would sacrifice herself for theirs.  
  
"I agree, Lord Voldemort."  
  
"I knew you could be reasonable."  
  
A silent tear slipped down her mother's face.  
  
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*End Flashback*  
  
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Lily pulled up the sleeve of her robe, and began weeping again. The skull throbbed upon the flesh of her arm, so black it was absent of light at all. Stupid Snape. Now she'll have to tell him. He'll ask, and she'll have to tell James, that she was a death eater. Her anguished sob echoed off the bathroom walls. And he'd hate her. And what little happiness she had left would be taken from her. She thought she could repent for her decision, by helping others; by helping Hagrid learn magic, but now she knew it didn't work that way. She was, and always will be, an evil, spiteful thing, and she should stick to her own kind.  
  
She liked to believe that she was better than the rest of them, better than Snape or Malfoy (A/N:LUCIUS Malfoy), because she did not join of her own free will, she did not join to gain power. She was blackmailed. But she knew James would not understand. He was always a righteous man, and it was why she loved him. Even if he rejected her, she would continue loving him. But for now, for now she would hide it from him. She would hide it from him forever, if she could. He did not have to know. She would protect herself, and him, and their love, by keeping her secret. And she would date Snape to keep his.  
  
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Sirius walked along side of Remus and James, looking forward to lunch. Professor McGonagall always managed to make him hungry, among other things. "I wonder what we're having today?"  
  
"For lunch?" asked James "I don't know, but I hope it's good. That last class always makes me hungry."  
  
Sirius grinned. He and James had always thought along the same wavelengths. Now, though, he noticed that his friend looked slightly more worried than he usually did. "Hey, don't worry about Lily. I'm sure she's fine."  
  
"I don't know. What Snape said really upset her, though I haven't a clue why. And what if she agrees to go out with him?"  
  
"She won't. I wouldn't, not with an ugly prat like him. Even if I did like you," he finished, grinning.  
  
"But if she doesn't," said Remus, breaking for the first time into the conversation, "Snape will tell Dumbledore. About us. We could get into a lot of trouble." Remus, Sirius noticed, looked worried too, but for different reasons. /He even looks good when he's worried/. Sirius sighed. He needed to stop thinking stuff such as that. He had a *girlfriend* after all. And he knew Remus wasn't like that. But whenever he was around Remus, he couldn't help noticing him. It just kinda happened.  
  
"You could," hissed Snape, breaking into Sirius' thoughts, "so you better hope she makes the right choice, Lupin."  
  
"Shut it, Snake," hissed Sirius, "just because you know doesn't mean we have to put up with you." God, how he hated him.  
  
"Guys!" cried Lily's voice behind them, "wait up!"  
  
All four of them stopped and turned around.  
  
"I've made my decision," she said, drawing herself up, her eyes flashing dangerously. "I'm going to date Snape."  
  
"WHAT!?" cried Sirius.  
  
"Lily..." pleaded James.  
  
"No arguments. It's for the good of everyone," she said.  
  
Snape was grinning. "I knew you were sensible. Shall I escort you to lunch my dear?" He offered her his arm, and she took it gracefully, turning back to give them one last look of warning: /don't do anything/.  
  
Sirius stood gaping. What just happened here? Snape *won*. Since when did *he* ever win? It just wasn't the way things worked. /Well, I can fix that/. If Snape was so interested in what they did, maybe he'd just help him along a little bit. A wicked grin crossed Sirius' face. Maybe he would. This was going to be good.  
  
"Well, gentlemen, shall we go to lunch?" he asked, in a decidedly better mood now that he knew Snape in fact hadn't won.  
  
Remus and James looked at him like he was nuts. "What prompted that change of mood?" asked James.  
  
"Oh, you'll see. You'll see."  
  
A/N: Yay! I finally finished! I had a major case of writer's block right in the middle there. I know it's kinda short, but I thought it was a good place to leave off. I'll post again as soon as I can! Luvya!  
  
   
  
   
  
   
  
   
  
   
  
   
  
   
  
   
  
   
  
   
  
   
  
   
  
   
  
   
  
  


	4. Chapter 4

   
  
 Disclaimer: To the demise of myself and advantage of Ms. Rowling, Harry Potter (and all characters not as important) do not belong to me.  
  
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(About) One Month Later  
  
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Remus shifted restlessly in his seat. The History of Magic lesson today was especially boring, and with the full moon tonight he found it hard to keep his attention from wandering. For the third time that period, he observed that Professor Binns was so old and boring that he really should be dead. (Which, he also observed, was a kinda harsh thing to think, but every time Binns opened his mouth to speak he found the statement more and more true).  
  
He sighed and turned his attention to James. As usual, he was staring at the back of Lily's head in the seat in front of him, with both an admiring and upset look on his face. Remus really did feel sorry for him. He could tell that James was head-over-heels in love with her, and that the fact that she was Snape's girlfriend was driving him mad. He barely ate or slept anymore, except for when one of his friends forced him to. It was three times that week, Remus counted, that he was woken from his sleep to the sound of James rustling around in the bed across from him (of course, Remus was a light sleeper anyway). Eventually, after many soothing words from Remus, he did calm down enough to sleep. However, if that was what happened to you when you were rejected by the one you loved, Remus knew he was doing the right thing in protecting himself.  
  
His eyes wandered to Peter, who was as usual trying to keep up with the notes Professor Binns was handing out, and then to Sirius. Sirius, he had noticed, was acting very strangely these past few weeks too. But whenever Remus questioned him about it, Sirius would just shrug it off and change the topic quickly. Now, he looked thoughtful, chewing on the tip of his quill. He was obviously plotting something, but what that was he'd just have to wait and see. /I wish he'd tell me,/ thought Remus,/it would be nice to have some secrets shared between us/. Remus blushed. He had always been jealous of James because he was better friends with Sirius, and spent so much time with him. But when James had started playing Quidditch, Remus and Sirius were left with really only each other, and their relationship had grown from there. Still, they weren't as close as Remus would like them to be. /And just how close is that?/ whispered the malicious voice in the back of his head. /He has a girlfriend, you know. He doesn't like *you*. And besides, you're a werewolf. You can't afford to be close with anyone./ Remus shook his head. /Shut up!/ he hissed back at it.  
  
"…emus? Remus!" Remus was jolted from his reverie at the sound of Sirius' voice. "You okay? You look a little out of it."  
  
"Yes, I'm fine. I was just thinking."  
  
"Oh. Well, the class is over." Remus looked around for the first time and realized that everyone else was gone. "Let's go." Sirius picked up Remus' books and he followed him out of the classroom. Sirius turned to look at him again, concern in his eyes "You sure you're okay?" Sirius was always concerned for him, especially when he knew it was around the full moon.  
  
"Yes, I…"  
  
But he never finished his statement, as an exceedingly cheerful voice rang out from down the hallway. "Sirius! There you are!"  
  
Remus groaned inwardly. /Not Arabella…/ Arabella Figg was a seventh year in Ravenclaw, and Sirius' current love interest. Although she was a bright girl, she had a reputation for being the gossip of the school and enjoyed talking about mundane things, especially her pet cats. Remus suspected the only reason Sirius put up with her was because she was very pretty, and very well endowed.  
  
"Hi, Arabella," said Sirius.  
  
"Are you going to the Quidditch game? Oh, hi Remus."  
  
"Hi," he managed to say, without any trace of loathing. He had become very good at covering up his true emotions over the years.  
  
"Of course I'm going!" cried Sirius. "Wouldn't miss it for the world. Although you know Gryffindor is going to win."  
  
"Well, we'll just see about that. Ravenclaw has a new Seeker this year, and they're really very good. Might even give James a run for his money." Arabella glanced at them, a smirk on her face "Especially with him all out of sorts."  
  
Sirius looked as if he were going to say something nasty, but instead answered with "Well, once he gets out on the field, I'm sure his head'll clear up."  
  
"Yes, well…" Arabella frowned "Why are you carrying Remus' books?"  
  
"Uhh…" said Sirius  
  
"I wasn't feeling well," Remus covered up quickly.  
  
"Oh. But you'll still come to the game won't you?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
******************  
  
A few hours later, Remus was cheering next to Lily, Sirius and Peter, waving his Gryffindor-colored flag madly.  
  
"And another ten points to Gryffindor!" cried the announcer, a boy by the name of Mundungus Fletcher (a sixth year Gryffindor himself). Currently, Gryffindor was leading by twenty to ten. The game had been going on for at least half an hour, and still the Snitch had not been spotted. The score was very close, as was the game.  
  
"Ravenclaw chaser Johnson now in possession of the Quaffle… passes it to Green, and…OOO! That had to hurt… Green knocked in the head with a Bludger, nice play for Gryffindor…"  
  
But Remus' attention was taken from the Chasers and up to James. He had begun to dive, with Ravenclaw's seeker right on his tail. Katie Bell, was her name, and Arabella had not been bluffing when she said that Katie was good. She was. She had kept right up with James the whole game.  
  
"And the Snitch is spotted! Captain James Potter and new addition Katie Bell are neck in neck…going into a steep dive now…"  
  
Remus' heart was in his throat as he watched them get closer and closer to the ground. "Oh my God…pull up…"  
  
Katie pulled out, and James leapt from the broom, tumbling onto the ground. He lay there, prone, for a few seconds, before holding up his hand and revealing a glint of gold. The Gryffindor side of the stadium erupted into cheers.  
  
"AND GRYFFINDOR WINS! ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY TO TEN!" cried Fletcher. "TAKE THAT RAVENCLAW!"  
  
"Fletcher…" sighed Professor McGonagall, but she couldn't be really mad at him since she was the newly appointed Gryffindor house head.  
  
While the rest of the stadium cheered, Remus, Lily, Sirius, and Peter stood still and pale. "That looked like a bad fall," said Sirius, voicing all their thoughts. As James' teammates landed and began to crowd about him, they raced from the risers to the field.  
  
About halfway there, Sirius broke from the rest of them.  
  
"Where are you going?" asked Remus, spinning about to face him.  
  
"I just spotted someone I need to talk to," said Sirius, indicating Snape hovering in the background with a toss of his head. "I'll catch up with you later."  
  
Remus stood shocked for a few seconds. Why would Sirius ever want to talk with Snape? As he watched him walk off, he was suddenly torn between checking to see if James was all right and spying on Sirius. Peter made up his mind for him.  
  
"You coming, Remus?" he called.  
  
"Yea, I'm coming."  
  
*****************  
  
"I'm here, Black. Now hurry up and say what you need to. I don't have that much time to waste with you," sneered Snape, as Sirius approached him.  
  
"Oh, believe me, the feeling's mutual, Snake. I just have a piece of information I think you'll be interested in." If he didn't know that all this would be so worth it later on, Sirius would have left right then and there. Every time he saw Snape, he was reminded of just how much he hated him.  
  
"And what's that?"  
  
"Well, since you're *so* interested in what it is we do after hours, I thought I might offer you a bit of help."  
  
"Hnnn. What's the catch?" said Snape, eyeing him suspiciously.  
  
"Oh, no catch," said Sirius, his voice sugary sweet, "but if you don't want to know…" He knew Snape wouldn't be able to resist.  
  
"Fine. What?"  
  
"After Remus leaves the grounds with Madam Pomfrey, head up to the Whomping Willow and prod the knot of the tree with a long stick. You'll be able to get in after him."  
  
"Now why would you tell me that? You think I'm so stupid, Black. I don't believe you."  
  
"Well, whether you believe me or not is up to you. I've said what I need to say. Pleasure talking to you." And with that, Sirius turned and began to walk down to the field. He knew Snape might be suspicious now, but eventually his curiosity (and his interest in getting them all into trouble) would compel him to act. And when he did, Sirius would be there to enjoy it. A smirk appeared on his face. Oh yes, this'll be good indeed.  
  
*****************  
  
Remus looked up into the stands and saw Sirius finally begin to make his way down to the field. A sense of foreboding washed over him. Whatever Sirius had been talking to Snape about, he knew it couldn't have been good.  
  
He returned his attention to James. He was now being escorted by two of his teammates up to the hospital wing. The fall had indeed been bad; he had broken a leg.  
  
"I hope he'll be alright," murmured Lily, a hand covering her mouth, her face still pale and drawn.  
  
"He'll be fine," assured Remus, "just needs a little rest, that's all. Madam Pomfrey will take care of him."  
  
Lily nodded and began to relax "I suppose you're right."  
  
"What happened?" called Sirius, running up to meet them.  
  
"James broke his leg," answered Peter.  
  
"Really? Poor guy," Sirius said, a look of pity crossing his face. "But he'll get over it. You know James," he added with a mischievous grin. "I was just afraid he'd seriously hurt himself."  
  
"Well, for being so concerned, you certainly took your time getting down here," said Lily, a reproachful look on her face. "Let's go."  
  
*****************  
  
After waiting an hour for Madam Pomfrey to finish with him, they had finally been admitted to the hospital wing. Pomfrey had insisted that James stay the night in the wing, just to be safe. As soon as they were left alone, James looked to Remus.  
  
"I'm sorry, Remus, but she's making me stay. I can't go with you tonight."  
  
"Me, neither," said Peter. "We have that big transfiguration test tomorrow, and I have to do good or else McGonagall says I won't be able to do the rest of the year's work."  
  
"I forgot, I still have to serve detention with Filch for using magic in the hallways," said Sirius. "Will you be alright alone?"  
  
"Sure, I'll be fine, don't worry about it," said Remus, not quite able to hide his disappointment. Sirius looked as if he were about to say something, but was interrupted by Madam Pomfrey.  
  
At that moment, she stuck her head into the room. "Are you ready, dear?"  
  
Remus nodded, and followed Pomfrey out into the hallway.  
  
"Oh, you have visitors," she called back to James.  
  
Arabella and the announcer, Mundungus, entered the room.  
  
"Hi," said Mundungus, "that looked like a pretty bad fall earlier. I just wanted to stop by and see how you're doing."  
  
"Me too," said Arabella.  
  
"Thanks for your concern," said James. "Really, I'm fine."  
  
They looked relieved. "That's good," sighed Arabella. "I was afraid that you'd really hurt y…"  
  
"Where is he?" interrupted Sirius. He was rocking back and forth, staring anxiously out of the window.  
  
"Where is who?" asked James suspiciously.  
  
Sirius glanced back at him. "Uh…nobody."  
  
This made James even more suspicious. "What did you do?" he cried.  
  
"Nothing!"  
  
"Like hell, nothing. Tell me, Sirius."  
  
Sirius fidgeted under James' stare, looking like a child who had just smashed his mother's favorite vase after playing baseball indoors.  
  
"I kinda…uh…"  
  
"What?"  
  
"I told Snape how to get in after Remus…"  
  
"YOU WHAT?!"  
  
"He deserves what he gets! Sneaking around, spying on us, trying to get us expelled!"  
  
"What's going on?" said Arabella, a confused look on her face.  
  
But she went unheeded as James leapt from the bed and over to the window.  
  
"You shouldn't be up! James!" scolded Lily.  
  
James ignored her, too, as he gazed intently out of the window. Finally, he spotted Snape, about halfway across the grounds to the Whomping Willow. It was almost nightfall; the sun was blood red on the horizon of the sky.  
  
"No!" he cried, and began to dash out of the room.  
  
Sirius stepped in front of the doorway, blocking his path. "James! Leave him! He's not worth it!" he cried.  
  
"Get out of the way, you prat! GET OUT OF THE WAY!"  
  
Reluctantly, Sirius stepped from the door, and James began the chase of his life.  
  
A/N: Hope you enjoyed that! I've included Arabella and Mundungus because of what Dumbledore said in the fourth book: "You are to alert Remus Lupin, Arabella Figg, Mundungus Fletcher- the old crowd." But does anyone have specifics on them? I know there's a Mrs. Figg who lives down the street from Harry. Anyway, there wasn't much about L/J this chapter, but I'll start doing more on them soon! Luvya!  
  
P.S.: Nicole Kidman won best actress for Moulin Rouge! It won 3 awards! However, I don't think Harry Potter was even *nominated*. What's up with that?  
  
   
  
   
  
   
  
   
  
   
  
   
  
   
  
   
  
   
  
   
  
   
  
   
  
   
  
  


	5. Chapter 5

   
  
Author's rant: Yes, I'm ranting. Well, not really ranting; but anyway. This story will also contain Sirius and Remus, which I have already stated in the first chapter, for those who paid attention. And yes, they're gay. But, in my opinion, it's the *person* that you fall in love with, not the sex. And if you'd just hear me out, I can explain why S/R are adorable together. First of all, their animal forms are so close in nature that it just seems right that they should understand and be close to one another. Secondly, the way Remus acted whenever Sirius was made mention of in PoA. Third they're just such a cute couple^-^. Okay, so maybe that's not a good reason. But you are entitled to your opinions and I to mine, and let's not be mean. Thanx for hearing me out, and on with the story! –Lady Evenstar  
  
Disclaimer: To the demise of myself and advantage of Ms. Rowling, Harry Potter (and all characters not as important) do not belong to me.  
  
James' leg throbbed and his breath rasped in his throat as he sped through Hogwarts' winding hallways. Even though Madam Pomfrey had fully healed his injury, it still needed rest before it would stop hurting. /Hurry…Hurry/ he chanted in his mind as he plunged recklessly onward, knocking over students and tripping on statues. All else was forgotten…his near-obsession with Lily… the agony of the past few weeks… his anger over Snape… in the race to save another student's life. It didn't matter that it was Snape. It didn't matter that he was Lily's boyfriend. He was going to die, be ripped apart by one of James' best friends, if James didn't get there soon.  
  
The exit to the grounds loomed ahead, and fed more adrenaline to James' already accelerated system. /Almost there…/  
  
"James Potter!" cried out Madam Pomfrey's voice from behind him. "What do you think you're doing?!"  
  
But he couldn't stop… not even if Madam Pomfrey did command him to… every second that fled by was crucial…  
  
He was out now, on the grounds, the light of the full moon guiding his way through the grass. The Whomping Willow was there, in front of him…now closer…now closer… Snape was just entering the passage, only inches away…  
  
THWACK! In his haste he forgot to be cautious around the tree. His glasses flew from his face, knocked to the ground by one of the willow's vicious branches. He quickly brought his hands up to his head, and in the process his wand dropped to the ground.  
  
James stumbled backward as another branch thrashed at him, cutting his face. He dropped to his knees, feeling about the ground…his glasses…where were his glasses? And his wand…  
  
The door to the tunnel that led to the Shrieking Shack snapped shut. /There's no time…I'll just forget the glasses, and the wand./  
  
James picked up a stick and aimed as best he could through the blur at the knot of the tree. The branches above his head froze. /At least luck is with me tonight!/  
  
He got up and slipped through the entrance… straight into Snape.  
  
"Snape!" he gasped, grabbing ahold of his arm and tugging "Let's go! Get out of here!"  
  
But Snape was staring, transfixed, at a blurry shape down near the end of the tunnel, at the entrance to the shack. A shape that could only be Remus.  
  
"COME ON!" urged James, tugging ever the harder. A fully transformed werewolf now stood at the end of the passage- and it had caught scent of them.  
  
"Get off me, Potter," mumbled Snape, moving toward the shack as if in a daze.  
  
A terrible snarl shook the passageway, echoing off the cavernous walls. There was deathly silence for a moment, then the sound of four clawed feet pounding down the passage.  
  
Both boys went still and pale for a moment. Then James awoke from his fear and began tugging at Snape again, who was now frozen in not awe but panic.  
  
The feet came ever closer.  
  
"DAMMIT, SNAPE YOU GREAT PRAT! MOVE!!!"  
  
James threw all his weight into pulling, and Snape began to stumble backward.  
  
"That's it…c'mon…"  
  
He pushed and pulled and strained, all the while screaming at Snape to awake from his stupor and *move*.  
  
"Faster, FASTER!" he chanted. He didn't want to think what would happen when the Remus-wolf got ahold of them.  
  
The werewolf was almost upon them now- there wasn't any time left. James felt desperation and regret sneak up on him. He shouldn't have come. He should have just left Snape to his fate…now Snape's fate was James'. They were going to die…  
  
He looked up and rejoiced. The entrance was right there, the ticket to freedom. Just a few more inches…  
  
A chilling howl reverberated in the tunnel, much louder and closer this time than the snarl had been. In fact, right behind them.  
  
James leapt into action. He shoved Snape with all his might through the opening and jumped after him. But not quite fast enough. A pair of terrifyingly powerful jaws seized the leg of his pants. "No!" he gasped, clawing at the ground outside as he was dragged against his will back into the passage. In his blind flailing his hand came upon something slender and smooth. His wand! He turned and cried out with all the power in his soul "STUPEFY!" The spell did not knock the werewolf unconscious, but it did stun him for a moment… and that moment was all James needed. He yanked his pant leg from Remus' mouth, tearing the fabric, and slammed shut the door.  
  
*****************  
  
Lily kept up with James as best she could, but the farther they went she found herself falling more and more behind. She was not as fast as he was, nor as in shape from years of playing Quidditch. But she continued doggedly onward, unwilling to abandon him to danger, especially when he had just recently been wounded.  
  
Lily made it to the exit to the grounds, and slumped against the arch, panting for breath. Her mind wandered over the past few weeks. She knew that James had been completely miserable; but for her it had been ten times worse. Not only did she ache for James with all her heart, but she was made to put up with Snape doting on her, too. 'Sit at my table, my dear,' or 'I hope you had a good time?'. But the worst was: 'Why don't we go up to my room…it's empty…' She shuddered in revulsion.  
  
And during those times, how she had yearned to be back, safe and warm, in James' arms. The yearning had festered and become a fierce ache inside of her, especially when she was around him. But being the strong person that she was, she buried it deep inside of her soul and let it out only to cry at night.  
  
Lily took in a deep breath and pushed the thoughts from her mind, steeling herself for the rest of the journey down to the willow.  
  
The sight that met her made her heart catch in her throat. Snape was lying, pale and shocked, on the ground and James… was being dragged by a wolf into a tunnel. Lily tried to scream, but couldn't find her voice. No, this couldn't be happening… she couldn't lose him! She had so much to tell him… so much to make up for. Even as she prepared for the worst, James flipped over and cursed the wolf. It stumbled, and he slammed a door in its face. As she watched him slump to the ground, she felt her knees go weak, too. /Thank God… he's made it!/  
  
She hurried over to the willow and knelt beside James. "Are you alright?" she murmured, stroking a hand across his forehead and brushing away his sweaty bangs from his eyes. As she looked down upon his face, she swore to herself that she would never, ever be with anyone besides him again.  
  
He blinked up at her "Lily?"  
  
She nodded.  
  
"Oh. I'm fine… just a little exhausted."  
  
She picked his glasses up off the ground and slid them over his eyes. "James…" she sighed. "I love you, you daft, daft man. Giving me heart attacks. Why are you always so righteous?"  
  
He chuckled. "Part of my nature, I guess." He hesitated. "Did you just say you loved me?"  
  
She smiled gently and nodded. "I do, and I'm so sorry James," her eyes began to sting. "I'm sorry, for putting you through all of this. I should have just said no. I should have said no…"  
  
He gathered her into his arms. "It's alright…it'll be fine, Lily. You did what you thought was right, and I can't be upset at you for that. But from now on, we'll be together, and I'll take care of you Lily. I'll take care of you."  
  
"You!" cried Snape, finally waking up enough from his stupor to fully comprehend what had happened, "You did this! You and your little friends almost got me killed, Potter!"  
  
"What?" said James, spinning around to face Snape "I just saved you!"  
  
"Only because you wanted to save your own ass," spat Snape. "I suppose you thought it would be so funny… let's trick Severus into getting himself killed! That'll be a laugh! And then take his girl!"  
  
Lily was fuming. "Didn't you just see what happened? Or are you blind?"  
  
Snape looked at her, shocked. "What?"  
  
"He almost ! He was almost eaten alive! Apparently saving you!"  
  
"He…I…" sputtered Snape.  
  
"You could at least have the decency to thank him!" she cried, on a roll.  
  
"Thank him!" yelled Snape, finally finding his voice "Why should I thank him! If his *best friend* hadn't tricked me into it in the first place, this never would have happened!"  
  
"He didn't have to save you!" she yelled.  
  
"Why are you *so* concerned for him anyway! In case you've forgotten, *I'm* your boyfriend!"  
  
"Not anymore," she hissed.  
  
"What?" growled Snape.  
  
"I SAID NOT ANYMORE! I've had it! I've. Had. It. I am *not* your girlfriend… oh no… in fact, in fact…I HATE YOU! I am not your girl, and I NEVER will be… no matter what you hold against me."  
  
"Lily…" cooed Snape, edging closer to her.  
  
"Don't come near me!"  
  
"You're just upset… let's talk…"  
  
"WHAT DO YOU THINK I'M UPSET ABOUT? YOU INCONSIDERATE JERK! WE'RE PAST TALKING! I am not some prize to be won, Severus… James knows that. And he LOVES me, truly loves me. He treats me as a PERSON. He would never threaten me and hold me against my will."  
  
"She obviously doesn't like you, Snake, so why don't you do us all a favor and get lost?" said James in a wry voice behind her.  
  
Snape was visibly fuming. "SHUT UP POTTER! No one asked *you*. And do you know what? I'm glad that werewolf almost caught you! What a fate for James Potter… to be torn apart by one of his own cronies!"  
  
This was the last straw for Lily. Burning with rage, she dashed from her spot beside James and slapped Snape, hard, across the face.  
  
"Well, Ms. Evans, I couldn't say that I would ever expect this kind of behavior from you." said an amused voice from behind them.  
  
"Dumbledore!" gasped Lily, her face turning bright red.  
  
Dumbledore was standing by the willow, along with Madam Pomfrey, Mundungus, Arabella, and a chagrined looking Sirius.  
  
"I'd appreciate it if you'd all come with me. We need to have a talk."  
  
*****************  
  
A few hours later, Madam Pomfrey, Sirius, James and Snape were the only few left in Dumbledore's office. Sirius glanced around curiously. It was the first time he had been there, surprisingly, in all seven years he had attended Hogwarts.  
  
"You are not to tell anyone of what you saw tonight, understood?"  
  
Dumbledore was now staring pointedly at Snape. Sirius watched as Snape reluctantly nodded in agreement.  
  
Sirius reviewed the last few hours in his mind. As soon as James and Lily had left, the rest also planned and leapt into action. Sirius had run to Dumbledore, to turn himself in, and get him to come down and help. Arabella went to fetch Madam Pomfrey, and Mundungus had rushed outside to give a hand in case something happened (but by the time he got there it was all over). The two also now knew about Remus' condition, but Sirius decided that there weren't finer people to be allowed in on the secret.  
  
"As for you, Mr.Black," said Dumbledore, turning twinkling blue eyes to Sirius, "I trust that you have learned your lesson?"  
  
Sirius nodded his assent, too.  
  
"Being as it may, you'll still have to serve some hefty detention."  
  
Sirius sighed. Another day of helping Filch clean. Great.  
  
He deserved it, however. Though it would have been funny to see Snape get punished for his nosiness, he hadn't thought the whole thing through. He hadn't realized how many of his friends it would have hurt. Having James sacrifice himself had been a major reality check for him, and made him turn himself in after James left that night. Now Sirius was truly sorry.  
  
"However, there is still one thing that I am curious about, if you wouldn't mind answering a question?"  
  
Sirius felt his breath hitch. What was it Dumbledore was going to ask?  
  
"I'd like to know how you ever figured out the way to get past the willow, yourself."  
  
Oh no. He couldn't tell Dumbledore that Remus had told him. Remus would be expelled, for sure… and everything that Remus had come to love would be ripped away from him. Remus had been talking with Sirius, once, during their third year, about how he had never been treated so kindly anywhere as in Hogwarts, and how lucky he was to have friends like them. Yeah, some friend he was.  
  
Dumbledore must have spotted the look in his eye just then, because he relented.  
  
"We'll talk about this later, with Remus present, then."  
  
Remus. How could he ever face him again?  
  
*****************  
  
Remus moaned and opened his eyes, crying out as the bright morning sun furthered the splitting pain in his head. He groaned and sat up, inspecting the wounds he had inflicted on himself the night before. It was pretty bad. Blood seeped through numerous bites on his arms, legs and torso. A particularly large gash made a line from his right shoulder to his left side.  
  
He remembered being in a particular rage last night… the reason he was in such a bad state. But why? Remus frowned in concentration, probing his memory and forcing the wolf to cooperate. Humans. There had been humans, here, last night. However, they had gotten away. But who? The wolf could come up with no answers to that question, since it did not have the ability to identify faces. All he remembered was being terribly disappointed when they had managed to get away.  
  
Remus heard Madam Pomfrey's heels clicking on the wooden floor of the downstairs of the shack. He struggled in vain to make himself look more decent.  
  
"Oh my, dear, it was a bad one last night, wasn't it?" she asked as she entered. Her tone, though, was strangely guarded and tense, which made Remus wonder.  
  
"Do you know what happened… last night, I mean?"  
  
She eyed him suspiciously for a moment, before kneeling beside him. "Nothing for you to worry about," she quipped, dressing his wounds.  
  
Remus was now sure that something was up, something that involved him. He wanted to press Pomfrey further, but found his eyelids were becoming strangely heavy, and his thoughts were deteriorating toward a dreamlike state.  
  
"Well, then," said Madam Pomfrey, standing again, "let's get you back to the hospital wing, shall we?"  
  
Remus struggled to his feet, but his knees gave out beneath him. He shut his eyes and braced himself for the fall, but it never came. "Sirius!" he sighed.  
  
Sirius' strong, warm arms were encircling him, bracing him and holding him up. Madam Pomfrey was staring daggers.  
  
"You're already in enough trouble, Mr. Black- what are you doing here?"  
  
Sirius stared sheepishly up at her. "I thought you might need some help- taking care of him, you know. I thought maybe I could redeem myself a little?"  
  
Her gaze softened a bit. "I suppose you could help him back to the hospital wing, if you would."  
  
Sirius shifted Remus, so that one of his arms was about Remus' waist, and Remus' arm was thrown across his shoulders.  
  
"Redeem yourself for what?" murmured Remus.  
  
"Don't worry about it just now," said Sirius, squeezing his waist for a second.  
  
Sirius helped Remus the rest of the way back to the hospital wing, and laid him gently down onto a bed.  
  
The last thing Remus remembered before dropping off to sleep was Sirius' voice, muffled in his hair.  
  
"I'm sorry."  
  
To be continued…  
  
  
  
   
  
   
  
   
  
   
  
   
  
    
  
   
  
   
  
  


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: To the demise of myself and advantage of Ms. Rowling, Harry Potter (and all characters not as important) do not belong to me. "Peace on Earth" belongs to U2 (I luv them!) and "Come What May," "Fly away," and "Your Song" are from the Moulin Rouge soundtrack (As if you didn't know THAT by now)  
  
Remus sighed and stretched luxuriously as he climbed out of the sterile white bed of the hospital wing. He pulled on his fresh, new Hogwarts robes, the Gryffindor emblem shining scarlet and gold on the front. He smiled to himself. If there was one thing he loved more than anything, it was these robes, so dearly paid for with blood and tears. It wasn't expensive, of course, in the material sense of the word. His Father held a high position in the Ministry of Magic, and his mother ran one of the few wizard music shops (which was essentially just like a muggle shop- the same instruments, but different music recordings.) It was just the fact that Remus never once imagined that he would ever in his life be donning these robes. It blew his mind even more that he actually had *friends* here, too.  
  
He bent to collect his textbooks off the nightstand, and gathered his ink and quills together. Almost forgotten under his schoolbooks were a little black notebook and a sketchpad. Remus loved to draw, but the one thing that he loved more was to compose music. He had learned theory at an early age from his mother, who had often taken him to work with her to nullify the fact that Remus was alone without friends. During long, lazy summer days he and his mother would practice guitar together, and flute. They would even write lyrics and music for their own songs together.  
  
The little black book contained all the music and lyrics that Remus had written since then. He had been working ESPEACIALLY hard on them now, because he, James, Lily, and Sirius were going to record them all. James had a good voice, so he agreed to be lead vocal (Remus would sing backup). Lily, Remus had been surprised to find out, played various instruments herself, one among them the base, so she had agreed to help them out. Sirius had been delighted to play the drum set, and Remus was playing guitar. Tomorrow, Saturday, they were all taking a trip to his Mother's shop to use her recording room.  
  
He tripped up to the boys' bedroom to drop off his stuff and then made his way down to dinner, for once in an especially good mood. "Hallo," he greeted his friends happily as he slid into an empty seat beside Peter.  
  
"Hello," answered James with a slight smile. "You're in a good mood."  
  
Remus nodded enthusiastically "Can't wait for tomorrow."  
  
Lily's hand, Remus noted, was entwined with James'. He hoped the two of them were together, now. "You seem happy, too," he half-joked.  
  
James blushed and became extremely interested in a morsel of food on his plate.  
  
Sirius also seemed overly interested in his food, as he stared at it fixedly and did not lift his gaze to Remus once. In fact, he had not even acknowledged that Remus was there. He gave him no greeting- not the usual "Decided to join us again, have you?"  
  
Remus leaned towards Peter. "What's wrong with Sirius?"  
  
Peter squirmed and looked extremely nervous. "Well...uh..." he whispered back "maybe you should ask him, later. I can't tell."  
  
"Can't tell?" said Remus, lifting an eyebrow. What did he do this time?  
  
/Humans/ whispered a thought in the back of his head, already half- forgotten. /Humans... Sirius' behavior... his rendezvous with Snape... and what he said at the shack: "I thought maybe I could redeem myself".../ Remus' face drained of blood as he fit the pieces together. /And his last words, before I went to sleep: "I'm Sorry"/  
  
Remus' good mood had by this time completely dissipated. Emotions battled inside of him... rage... betrayal... pain. He gave a choked sob.  
  
"What's wrong?" asked Lily, her voice colored with concern.  
  
Remus shook his head wordlessly for a few moments, until he could form a coherent statement. "Last week... at the shack... there were humans."  
  
Sirius' fork clattered to the plate. He sat, still and pale, across from Remus. This only confirmed what Remus had been thinking. "How could you?!" he cried.  
  
"Remus... please...I'm sorry..."  
  
"I need to...go, I think..." he managed to choke out before running from the dining room. Bitter tears traced their way down his face. And to think, all this time Remus had considered him a friend. /Werewolves can't have friends, I guess. Maybe there's a good reason why society shuns us./  
  
*****************  
  
Sirius couldn't do it. He just couldn't face Remus. As soon as he slid into the seat across from Sirius, happy and glowing and beautiful, Sirius felt his façade slip away. And then Remus figured it out. Of course he figured it out. He's Remus.  
  
And as Remus looked at him, pain and betrayal filling his lovely gold- flecked gray eyes, that was when Sirius felt more terrible than he had when Dumbledore reproached him.  
  
"How could you?!" That one remark cut into his soul deeply. /I don't know. I don't know how. I don't know what I was thinking.../  
  
"Remus... please...I'm sorry..." he said clumsily, flinching as each word left is mouth, knowing that nothing he said was of any comfort to Remus.  
  
Remus' eyes filled with tears, and he quickly excused himself and rushed from the hall. Sirius just sat there, limp and shocked.  
  
"What are you doing, you git?" asked James wryly.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Go after him!"  
  
Sirius looked at James incredulously.  
  
"You'll never get him by just sitting there," added Lily calmly over her cup of tea.  
  
"W-what?"  
  
But James just looked at him knowingly. Startled that James already guessed his feelings, Sirius leapt from his seat to chase after Remus.  
  
He found him, huddled by the window in the common room.  
  
"Remus?" The smaller boy jumped at hearing Sirius' voice, but did not turn to acknowledge him.  
  
Sirius sighed, and collapsed behind him, peeking out into the night. "The moon's beautiful tonight, isn't it?"  
  
Still no answer.  
  
"Look, I really am sorry. I-I wasn't thinking. I didn't think the whole thing through. I just- well, Snape always manages somehow to ruin everything that we hold dear. Him blackmailing us- and getting away with it- it just drove me mad. I know I should have thought about you, and James, and how it would affect us, but I didn't. You know me, Moony, when I get an idea into my head..."  
  
"Yes, I do know you," Remus cut him off with a hiss. There was an uneasy silence between them for a few moments, then Remus turned to face Sirius and spoke again. "I suppose you thought it would have been funny."  
  
"Oh, come on, it was just a trick on Snape, a joke..."  
  
"Is this a joke?" cried Remus, pulling back his sleeves to reveal not-quite-healed bite marks running up and down the length of his arms. His eyes shone with unshed tears.  
  
"No..."  
  
"Do you know what happens when a werewolf eats human flesh? Do you?"  
  
"I..."  
  
"They're damned. Damned for an eternity, to suffer in hell just as they have suffered everyday on the face of the earth, if they don't become vampires first. There is no hope for a werewolf once he tastes human flesh. Had I gotten ahold of Snape, he would have not been the only one who suffered, Sirius. Your joke would have claimed my soul, if he hadn't of left. And what, did he bring a friend too?"  
  
"No," murmured Sirius, feeling as if he wanted to just crawl in a hole and die, "that was James. He pulled Snape out."  
  
"And thank God he did," sighed Remus, stopping to wipe his face on his sleeve.  
  
"Remus, I am truly sorry. I can't- find the words to express how I feel right now. I'm not asking you to forgive me. Just- accept my apology. Please," he emphasized the last word with all the desperation he felt in his soul.  
  
"Fine," murmured Remus softly and without a trace of emotion, brushing past Sirius to climb the steps to their room.  
  
Sirius moaned and buried his face in his hands. /That didn't go well at all/  
  
*****************  
  
James awoke the next morning and fumbled for his glasses. "C'mon, you lazy blokes, get up," he called to the three other sleeping forms in the room. "Up, up, up! We've got things to do, remember."  
  
"This is what I get for sharing a room with the captain of the Quidditch team," slurred Sirius from the bed across from James'.  
  
"Damn right," he said cheerfully, pulling on his favorite casual clothes... a pair of jeans and a Chudley Cannons T-shirt.  
  
"I'll meet you downstairs," he said as he scooped up his book that held the score to the music they were to be producing today.  
  
He smiled as he saw Lily at the bottom of the steps, holding a base guitar case and a similar score.  
  
"Good morning," he cooed, giving Lily a quick peck on the cheek. She looked good today, observed James. He told her so. Her hair was pulled into a braid down her back, and she wore a tight, emerald-green shirt and loose black pants.  
  
"Well, thank you," she smiled. "you don't look too bad yourself," and with that she pulled him into a passionate kiss. James gave a little, mental sigh. He loved her so much. He still couldn't believe that this was real- that this was actually happening.  
  
He felt a tug on his shirt "We're leaving without you," teased Remus.  
  
"You know, you three show up at the most inopportune times," sighed James, smiling around at his friends. Sirius was dressed in black, baggy pants and a red shirt with decorative flames crawling up the sleeves, and had a pair of drumsticks in hand. Remus had on khaki pants and a black shirt, and had a guitar case slung over a shoulder. Peter, who was not performing but insisted on coming along to watch, had on jeans and a blue shirt.  
  
"I think we'll fit in good with the muggles," commented James. Remus's mothers's shop was located in a part-muggle village, so they had to dress normally.  
  
"Though I think they might wonder who the Chudley Cannons are," joked Sirius.  
  
The five friends began trekking down to Hogsmeade in order to catch a cab for the shop. Most of the time was spent joking and laughing, but he noticed that there was a strange tension between Sirius and Remus. When James had come up to the room the night before, both had already been in bed with the curtains drawn, so he didn't have a chance to ask how it went. Judging by their behavior, whatever had gone down wasn't good.  
  
Mrs. Lupin's shop was small, but really cool. She had all kinds of instruments lining the walls, lit by sparkle charms. The ceiling was charmed to look like the night sky, and music was playing from hidden speakers around the store. But the best part, James thought, was the record displays. Glowing signs were charmed to float above each one, flashing in a rainbow of colors "Muggle Rock", "Muggle Pop", "Wizard Classical," "WWN Premiers," and so on. The records were held up by actual, living, flowering plants. He walked over and picked up a CD entitled "WOW Collection 135," and the plant limb slithered away. As he placed the CD back down, it slithered up again and snatched it from his hand.  
  
Mrs. Lupin herself was a slight, dark haired woman who shared Remus's gray eyes, and had a little bit of a French accent. "I haven't seen you all in such a long time!" she cried happily, embarrassing each one of them by distributing warm hugs.  
  
After they had exchanged hellos and spoken about how school was going for each of them, she pointed to a door in the recesses of the store. "The recording room is back there. If you need anything, or just a second opinion," she added with a smile "don't hesitate to ask. I'll be in later with some lunch."  
  
The recording room wasn't as exciting as the rest of the store. It was small, with plain white walls and a hardwood floor, `But very good for acoustics' added Remus.  
  
There was a mixing board and a control panel off to the side of the room. A circle of microphones in the center of the room, surrounded by stools and a drum set, were connected to the control panel. Remus busied himself getting everything ready for recording while the rest of them warmed up. Peter took a seat in the corner.  
  
"Everything's ready, I think," called Remus after about ten minutes.  
  
The first song was entitled "Peace on Earth," and was one of James' favorites. It gave him hope that one-day people could live without the fear of Voldemort haunting their every move.  
  
*Heaven on Earth  
  
We need it now  
  
I'm sick of all of this  
  
Hanging around  
  
Sick of sorrow  
  
Sick of pain  
  
Sick of hearing again and again  
  
That there's gonna be  
  
Peace on Earth...*  
  
The song continued on, and all of them got really into it. Next was James' absolute favorite verse. It captured the spirit of the era perfectly...James had to give it to Remus, he was really very talented.  
  
*They're reading names out over the radio  
  
All the folks the rest of us won't get to know  
  
Sean and Julia, Gareth, Ann and Breda  
  
Their lives are bigger, than any big idea...*  
  
The rest of the day was spent talking, laughing and making music. It was one of the happiest times in James' life. With a few friendly suggestions from Mrs. Lupin, the recording turned out rather well, too.  
  
"That's it then," said Remus quietly after the last song had finished.  
  
"Not quite," said James. He pulled out a song that he himself had written, one day while thinking wistfully of Lily. "I thought maybe we could play this."  
  
Everyone stared at him. "You wrote a song?" exclaimed Sirius.  
  
"You all look so surprised," said James wryly. "Here, have a look."  
  
Remus took the score from his grip. "`Come What May'" he read. "But this requires a female part."  
  
"I know. Lily has a good voice."  
  
"W-What? ME? I can't sing..." cried Lily, her face turning red.  
  
Remus eyed her. "I think you could."  
  
"Yeah, c'mon Lil, give it a shot then," urged Sirius.  
  
"Oh, all right," she answered, but her face was still red.  
  
Remus got the recording set up again, and everyone prepared to play.  
  
The song started off with James singing.  
  
* Never knew I could feel like this  
  
Like I've never seen the sky before  
  
Want to vanish inside your kiss  
  
Every day I love you more and more  
  
Listen to my heart, can you hear it sing?  
  
Telling me to give you everything  
  
Seasons may change, winter to spring  
  
But I'll love you  
  
Until the end of time  
  
Come what may  
  
Come what may  
  
I will love you  
  
Until my dying day...*  
  
James looked at Lily as he sung, observing how each word was true. He loved her, and he would always love her, until the day he died. He'd loved the way she laughed, talked and smiled. He'd love the way she dressed, the way she moved, and the way her hair threw off the lighting of the room. But most of all he'd love her eyes, beautiful, vivid green windows that showed the depths of her soul. She caught his eye and smiled a bit, then picked up the song. She sang timidly at first, but with more power as she went on.  
  
*...Suddenly the world seems such a perfect place  
  
Suddenly it moves with such a perfect grace...*  
  
He thought back to the day he had met her, on platform nine and three quarters entering their first year at Hogwarts. Back then, he didn't care about anything, or anyone. He hated the world, for leaving him alone, for taking his parents from him before he even got a chance to know them. But then he saw *her*, and that had all changed. Indeed the world wasn't that bad, if she was in it.  
  
He began to sing with her, their voices in perfect harmony.  
  
*...Suddenly my life doesn't seem such a waste  
  
It all revolves around you  
  
And there's no mountain too high  
  
No river too wide  
  
Sing out this song and I'll be there, by your side  
  
Storm clouds may gather and stars may collide  
  
But I'll love you  
  
Until the end of time  
  
Come what may  
  
Come what may  
  
I will love you  
  
Until my dying day  
  
Oh, come what may  
  
Come what may  
  
I will love you...*  
  
Lily loved the song. It was brilliant, absolutely brilliant...just like James. She looked up from the score and admired him for a second. His eyes were closed, his soul devoted entirely to the song. He looked so...adorable, standing there. Like a great big teddy bear or something, that she wanted to run up and hug (Not that he looked like one... he was too handsome for that). Gods, she loved him. It was just the way he treated her... the way he acted, the way he smiled. How could she not love him? He left her no choice. And as they sung, it felt like they were affirming yet again their feelings for each other, making a secret promise that no one else could hear. /I'll always be here.../  
  
*...Suddenly the world seems such a perfect place...  
  
Come what may  
  
Come what may  
  
I will love you  
  
Until my dying day*  
  
The room was left in an appreciative silence for a moment, until Peter broke it. "That was very beautiful," he murmured quietly.  
  
"Yeah, who would've thought, our Jamsie a musician *and* a poet," broke in Sirius cheerfully. "And I thought all that you were good at was Quidditch."  
  
"Oh, shut it, Sirius," snapped James, but he was smiling brightly.  
  
"It'll take me and my Mum a while to edit and make copies," said Remus, getting straight down to business as usual, "but once we finish, I'll bring them up for you."  
  
"That would be lovely, Remus," said Lily. "Thank you," she added to Mrs. Lupin, who had just appeared in the doorway.  
  
"Oh, it was no trouble at all, Lily dear. I enjoyed seeing you all again."  
  
The five said their good-byes and filed out of the doorway to head home. As Lily was just about to leave when Mrs. Lupin laid a hand on her shoulder and leaned over to whisper in her ear.  
  
"That one's a keeper. Don't ever let him go," she said, nodding towards James.  
  
"Oh, don't worry about that," giggled Lily.  
  
The two shared a secret smile, like those that women exchanged when they knew something that others didn't, and then Lily ran to catch up with the others.  
  
*****************  
  
"Yes, my lord. Sirius Black, James Potter, and Remus Lupin." Snape had just finished conversing with Voldemort, where by some miracle he had convinced him that the three should be their next targets. He smiled grimly to himself. He'd teach them to mess with Severus Snape.  
  
"Which one is Lily's love interest?" hissed Voldemort. He seemed particularly disturbed when he had learned Lily was dating. Snape suspected that Voldemort had a... well, interest, call it, in Lily. He wasn't too sure if Voldemort could actually *love* somebody, but this seemed an awful lot like it. Or, at least like an infatuation. Not that Snape could blame him, of course. He himself was infatuated with her.  
  
"That would be James Potter, Excellency."  
  
"Very well then. I shall call together the order to discuss operations tonight."  
  
"Thank you, my master," said Snape, bowing low. This would be sweet.  
  
*****************  
  
Lily stood out upon the balcony off the Gryffindor common room, gazing at the fields and forests that made up Hogwarts. She was feeling particularly wistful tonight, because she knew she'd have to tell James about her being a Death Eater, and soon. She realized now that she could not hide it from him forever, as she had earlier resolved. Then, there would be no trust between them, and without trust there was no love. She owed James all that she could give him, and that was the truth. No matter how much it would hurt her in the end.  
  
She sighed and began to sing a tune that her mother taught her when she was little.  
  
*I've followed the night  
  
Can't stand the light  
  
When will I begin  
  
To live again?  
  
One day I'll fly away  
  
Leave all this to yesterday  
  
What more could your love do for me?  
  
When will love be through with me?  
  
Why live life from dream to dream  
  
And dread the day when dreaming ends?*  
  
She walked up to the railing, throwing her voice out over the fields.  
  
*One day I'll fly away  
  
Leave all this to yesterday  
  
Why live life from dream to dream  
  
And dread the day when dreaming ends?*  
  
"That was very beautiful," said a low voice behind her.  
  
"Oh! James, you scared me," she smiled.  
  
He walked up to her and took her into his arms. She buried her face in his shoulder and sighed happily.  
  
"Where'd you learn it?"  
  
"My mum taught me."  
  
The two fell into an easy silence. /Now/ decided Lily /I'll tell him now/.  
  
"James..."  
  
"I wrote another song for you," he cut her off. "Do you want to hear it?"  
  
"S...sure." It wasn't her fault if he didn't want to hear what she had to say. Then, all thought slipped her mind as he began to sing.  
  
*My gift is my song  
  
And this one's for you  
  
And you can tell everybody  
  
This is your song  
  
It may be quite simple but  
  
Now that it's done  
  
Hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind  
  
That I put down in words  
  
How wonderful life is  
  
Now you're in the world...*  
  
James gently pushed her back and looked into her eyes. She had be careful not to swoon.  
  
*Sat on the roof  
  
And I kicked off the moss  
  
Some of these verses, well  
  
They got me quite cross  
  
But the sun's been kind  
  
While I wrote this song  
  
It's for people like you that keep it turned on  
  
So excuse me for forgetting  
  
`Bout these things I do  
  
You see I've forgotten if they're green or they're blue  
  
And well the thing is  
  
I really love you  
  
And yours are about the sweetest eyes I've ever seen...*  
  
James took her hand and began to waltz her around the balcony as he , s face illuminated by the moonlight, giving him a beautiful, ethereal look. It felt as if they were dancing about the clouds, Lily reflected dreamily.  
  
*...And you can tell everybody  
  
This is your song  
  
It may be quite simple but  
  
Now that it's done  
  
Hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind  
  
That I put down in words  
  
How wonderful life is  
  
Now you're in the world  
  
I hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind  
  
That I put down in words  
  
How wonderful life is  
  
Now you're in the world*  
  
The last note echoed off the plains, giving a lovely effect to James' voice. He pulled Lily close gently, and their mouths met slowly. His breath fluttered against her lips, and then his own lips were there, making that wonderful shuddery feeling course through her body. How long they stood there like that, Lily didn't know, but she wished the moment would never end.  
  
Finally they broke apart, the need to breathe overpowering them.  
  
"That was very pretty," Lily said breathlessly.  
  
"I meant it, you know. I love you," said James sincerely.  
  
She smiled. "I know."  
  
Suddenly, a brilliant pain lit upon her left arm. /The mark. Voldemort's calling./  
  
"I...I have to go," she said nervously, pushing James away.  
  
"What? Why?" he called, grabbing hold of her arm as she rushed from the balony.  
  
"I just...I have to go. Big project due tomorrow," she said lamely, struggling against his grip. /He's holding my left arm. Oh God, I hope he can't feel the mark burning.../ "Please James..." she pleaded.  
  
"Alright," he said, releasing her arm and giving her a broken look.  
  
She turned and fled, tears leaking unbidden down her face. /I should have told him./ But she found that after that song, she had lost her courage. She knew she wouldn't be able to live if he rejected her. /What happened to there is no love without trust?/  
  
"Shut up," she hissed at herself. "I'll tell him, eventually..."  
  
/I'm so sorry James/  
  
A/N: I hope that wasn't too corny for you! It was my happy chapter (well, except for the whole S/R thing, and except for the Voldemort thing, too.) But most of it was happy! So how'd you like the whole music thing? I recommend reading this chapter while actually listening to the music. *swoons as she pictures James singing to Lily*  
  
James: Erm...aren't you supposed to be addressing the readers now?  
  
OH! Right. Anyway, I'm sorry I took so long to post but the hard drive failed on my computer and I lost whatever I didn't have saved on my floppy. *Takes out a hatchet and smashes dead computer to bits* Anyway, hang on folks `cause this story is gonna get real edgy next chapter! We're just reaching the climax soon! R&R! 


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: To the demise of myself and advantage of Ms. Rowling, Harry Potter (and all characters not as important) do not belong to me.  
  
*This chapter is dedicated to my sister, for being a most excellent beta reader and helping me out a lot, especially on this chapter*  
  
Lily stared around at all the black-robed vigilantes of Voldemort. With their hoods drawn over their heads and their faces hidden in the shadows, they more resembled wraiths, evil things not entirely real, than actually human beings. They reminded Lily of dementors. /And some of them more than likely are/.  
  
The field in which they stood was eerily quiet, the only sounds pervading the silence that of owls and other creatures of the night. No one dared speak, lest they reveal themselves by the sound of their voice. The only person who knew all who stood there in the night was Voldemort, and most people preferred it that way. Snape was the only one she knew (besides Malfoy, who basically bragged about it to everyone), and the only reason she knew Snape was one was by coincidence.  
  
***Flashback***  
  
It was dinnertime one night during their second year, and Lord Voldemort was calling them. After making their excuses, the two had rushed out of the Great Hall and bumped into one another.  
  
"Stop following me!" Lily had snapped.  
  
"I'm not following you, you're following me!" Snape had answered.  
  
Then, conveniently, or perhaps not, Lily had tripped and her left arm was left exposed. She moved quickly to cover it, but the damage had already been done. Snape saw it.  
  
"I-It's just a tattoo," she managed to stammer out.  
  
"No, it's not. You're a Death Eater!"  
  
"How did you..."  
  
"I'm one too, you see," he had said, and showed her his own mark.  
  
***End Flashback***  
  
Lily looked for Snape in the crowd, but she couldn't find him. A cold winter wind blew, and she shivered and pulled her cloak closer around her. Just as the crowd began to stir restlessly, Lord Voldemort appparated in front of them.  
  
"I have selected our next victims," he said without preamble, his eyes panning the crowd, taking attendence. "Three specific people. Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and James Potter." When he finished his horrible eyes lingered on her and her alone.  
  
/No...not James.../ But she lifted her chin proudly, allowing none of what she was thinking to be revealed on her face. She had to protect James...she couldn't reveal her feelings to Voldemort.  
  
The crowd shifted again, and nervous murmurs could be heard for the first time. Aren't those three students? Are they actually going to attack Hogwarts? What about Dumbledore?  
  
"Silence!" snapped Voldemort. "We will not be attacking Hogwarts you dolts! The Winter Holidays are coming soon. We will strike then. I will also choose a few select followers to head an attack on the ministry. You will be notified." And with that, he disapparated again.  
  
Lily stood silent and shivering as the Death Eaters dispersed, lost in her own thoughts. James was going to be killed. But if she told him, her parents would be killed, because she betrayed Lord Voldemort's trust. She couldn't choose between them. What was she going to do?  
  
Lily jumped and gave a little cry as a viselike arm wrapped around her waist.  
  
"Shh, it's just me my dear, no reason to be afraid," the voice of Voldemort hissed in her ear.  
  
"Indeed, but there is every reason to be afraid," she answered, tone barely above a whisper.  
  
He laughed, a terrible and shrill sound. "You amuse me, my pet," he said, grabbing her arm and twisting her around so that her face was inches away from his own. She struggled to maintain her composure, but when your face is so close to one of the most horrible creatures on earth, it's hard not to be afraid. "What's this I hear about you having a *boyfriend*," he continued.  
  
"There was never any agreement that I could not date," she managed to answer him, surprising even herself at the coolness in her voice.  
  
"There is now. You are not to see any one, Lily. Dump him. Unless, of course, you would rather see your parents die?"  
  
"If...I do agree to dump James, will you spare his life? And his friends'?"  
  
Lord Voldemort looked thoughtful for a moment, then answered slowly "No. I have my promises, you see."  
  
"Since when did promises ever mean anything to you!?" she cried, mentally slapping herself for back talking him.  
  
"Since I have something to gain from them. You are forgetting your place, Lily dear."  
  
"I'm sorry," she muttered quietly. Then, a spark of inspiration came to her. "My Lord," she began coyly, "this thing with James, it is only an infatuation. There is really no need that I see to kill the boy. Surely you know where my true love lies," she said as she brought her body closer to his. Playing a game of deception with the master deceiver is dangerous, unless you know their weakness. And his weakness was her.  
  
"I'm not sure what you are talking about, pet."  
  
"Then come to me the night of Christmas Eve and let me show you. Perhaps we could discuss then the fates of these silly boys?" Maybe Lord Voldemort had forgotten her earlier transgression, or perhaps he had chosen to ignore it, but either way he agreed to the rendezvous whole-heartedly. Or as whole-hearted as Lord Voldemort got.  
  
"Very well, then. I have business to attend to."  
  
Lily slumped to the ground as Lord Voldemort disapperated. Her façade had saved them for now. But how long could she keep it up? And how did Voldemort found out about her involvement with James in the first place?  
  
Lily leapt to her feet as the answer came to her in a rush. Of course. It had to have been him.  
  
*****************  
  
"HOW COULD YOU?" cried Lily, shoving Snape against the Hogwarts gates. She was out of breath from the long run back, but her anger gave her strength enough to yell.  
  
"What are you talking about?" he spat back at her.  
  
"Don't play dumb with me. You told Lord Voldemort about James. You told him! How could you?" Tears of rage were tracing down her face, but she made no move to brush them away.  
  
"How could I? They almost had me killed the other day! I figured I might as well return the service!"  
  
"Then this all over that stupid prank?"  
  
"Not just the prank, but the little injustices that they've done to us all over the years! It's time they learned that they are *not* invincible."  
  
"Did you even think about how I would feel? James is my boyfriend! And you just go and decide to have him killed! Not only that, now you've brought Lord Voldemort into it. Severus, you're playing with fire."  
  
"Yes, but I'm not the one who's getting burned," Snape said with a cruel smile, and turned through the gates.  
  
"Are you so sure?"  
  
*****************  
  
As Voldemort was conducting his gathering, after being literally ditched by Lily, James decided to occupy himself by going to visit Hagrid. Slipping out of his invisibility cloak, James banged on the huge wooden door of Hagrid's hut.  
  
"Oh, 's you," said Hagrid as he poked his huge head out the door.  
  
" `Oh, it's me?' Is that all the greeting I get after dragging all the way down here to visit you?" said James with a wry smile.  
  
"Sorry James, I din' mean it like that," Hagrid apologized, waving James inside his hut. James sighed and dropped himself down into one of Hagrid's huge armchairs.  
  
"Who else were you expecting?" he asked curiously.  
  
"Lily was s'posed to come down here an'...nevermin'."  
  
"Teach you magic?"  
  
Hagrid gave him an alarmed look. "Don't worry," assured James, "she told me."  
  
"Oh. Well, she was s'posed to be here 'bout a half hour ago. Still hasn' shown. Maybe she forgot."  
  
"I don't think so. I was just with Lily, and she seemed in a rush to go somewhere. Maybe she got caught up doing something else."  
  
After a few moments silence, James said "I know Hagrid, how about I teach you some magic in the meantime? I'm probably not as good at it, but at least it's something."  
  
"Alrigh', tha's a good idea!" said Hagrid cheerfully.  
  
A few hours passed, in which Hagrid broke several flowerpots attempting to shrink them, and still Lily hadn't shown. The two took a break over some tea.  
  
"I don' think she's comin'" said Hagrid heavily.  
  
"Don't worry about it Hagrid. You still learned a lot. I don't think she skipped out intentionally."  
  
"Yer right. Thanks fer teaching me, James."  
  
"It's no problem really," said James cheerfully. After bidding Hagrid goodbye, he began to wonder. Where *was* Lily? He hurried back to Hogwarts and decided to ask around. He bumped into Arabella in the hallway , who was hurrying away from the Library with her arms full of books. Arabella and Lily usually studied together.  
  
"James!" she called him "Have you seen Lily? She was going to help me with divination, but I can't seem to find her."  
  
"Funny, I was just about to ask you the same thing. Apparently she's skipped out on a lot of people tonight."  
  
"Oh. Well, if you do find her, tell her to come up to the Ravenclaw common room, would you? The password is `Nevermore'."  
  
"Will do."  
  
But as he asked Lily's friends in the common room, they said they hadn't seen her since she had left that morning. To James, it seemed as if Lily had dropped off the face of the earth. Did something happen to her? Or was there something she was keeping from him?  
  
James climbed the steps to his bedroom heavily. Sirius and Peter were inside, playing a game of exploding snap, and Remus was stretched out on his bed with his nose in his books. "Hey," he greeted them half-heartedly, and collapsed onto his bed.  
  
"Well that was the most lack-luster `hey' that I think I've ever gotten from you," joked Sirius "what's wrong?"  
  
"You guys don't happen to know where Lily is, do you?"  
  
"No, that's your job," answered Sirius. "Why, did something happen to her?"  
  
"I don't know," James said vaguely, staring up at the top of his canopy.  
  
"She's probably fine," said Peter. "She seems like the sort who can take care of herself."  
  
"Yeah, cheer up," encouraged Sirius.  
  
"I've got something that'll cheer all of us up," said Remus, looking up from his homework and joining into the conversation for the first time.  
  
"What, you've finally got a life?" teased Sirius, and had a book thrown promptly at his head. "Hey, ow! You had to throw the arithmancy book!"  
  
Remus ignored him and continued on. "My Aunt's invited me and a few friends to her house in France for winter break. Do you guys want to come? It's really nice, right on the outskirts of Paris."  
  
"Wow, you have relatives in Paris?" said Peter, clearly in awe.  
  
"Yes, well, that *is* where I'm from. My family only just moved here after...well, you know. So, what do you say? After you've gotten permission and everything."  
  
"I think it's a great idea!" cried James. Remus's announcement had put him into a better mood. "Can Lily come?"  
  
"Of course," answered Remus with a smile.  
  
"You can count me in," smiled Sirius.  
  
"Yeah, me too!" chimed Peter.  
  
James smiled to himself. There was nothing he'd like better than spending Christmas in Paris, with his best friends and his girlfriend; the people he treasured more than anything in the world. He wouldn't have to go back to the foster home! It wasn't as if the people there were mean, but it wasn't one of his favorite places, either.  
  
James joined in with Sirius and Peter for a while, and then all four friends climbed into bed, excited and happy, chattering softly about what vacation in Paris would be like. Slowly, they started to drop off, until James was the only one left awake. He felt much better than before; he was sure Lily was fine, and soon they would be exploring Paris together. His dreams were filled with scenes of Lily and him on the Eiffel tower.  
  
*****************  
  
"God, I'm late!" cried James, glancing at the clock.  
  
James grabbed his books and started running for the Great Hall. He had overslept, and his next class was in fifteen minutes. He began taking the steps two at a time, at the same time trying to straighten his tie. He was almost there, with thirteen minutes to spare.  
  
CRASH! In his haste, he hadn't been watching where he was going and slammed straight into...  
  
"Watch where you're going, Potter!" hissed Snape.  
  
"I'm sorry," muttered James, bending to collect his books.  
  
"You should be. I don't know why Lily *ever* chose to date a clumsy oaf like you."  
  
James's eyes flashed, but he gritted his teeth and ignored the bait.  
  
"Of course, she doesn't have much choice, does she? She has to date idiots, or they might figure her out."  
  
"What are you talking about?" grated James, shoving Snape back against the wall. By this time, they had attracted the attention of a small crowd of people, including Sirius, Remus, and a few of Snape's cronies.  
  
"You don't know?" said Snape, his eyes shining maliciously. He gripped James's arms, trying to push him away. "That's what I'm talking about. She's a Death Eater, Potter."  
  
"You're lying," growled James, tightening his hold on Snape "Don't ever talk like that about her."  
  
"Am I? Where was she last night then, Potter?" hissed Snape. "You don't know, do you? Your perfect little angel is a Death Eater. She' a slut just like the rest of them!"  
  
This was too much for James. Not even thinking enough to pull his wand, James just punched Snape in the mouth. Snape staggered, and then brought his own fist up into James' stomach. Soon the two were on the ground, raining blows on one another.  
  
The crowd around them stirred and gave a collective gasp. Then, smelling blood, Malfoy and Crabbe ran to help Snape out. They were about to fall onto James when Sirius and Remus tackled them. Sirius easily beat hell out of Malfoy, who was used to talking crap but too weak to fight his own battles. Remus was having a harder time with Crabbe, who was big and burly, but eventually Crabbe failed under the werewolf's strength. Soon, the Great hall was in a frenzy of violence as the Slytherins went at the Gryffindors.  
  
"HALT!" Dumbledore's voice rang out over the foray, commanding immediate silence and stilling every fight. "Everyone please return to your seats. Now." Few from that point on could ever remember him being angrier. All the students rushed to comply.  
  
Sirius knelt by James, who was lying next to Snape in the hallway. Malfoy was collapsed behind them, blood leaking from his mouth and nose. Remus pushed out from under Crabbe, sporting a purplish bruise on his cheek but looking much better off then Crabbe. However, Snape and James both looked pretty bad. James's glasses were broken, and his nose was bloody. Snape was bruised and bloody, and a tooth missing from his mouth.  
  
"Who started this?" demanded Dumbledore. All the heads in the Great Hall turned toward the small group in the hallway. "Very well. All of those hurt can see Madam Pomfrey. The rest of you head to class, except for those few in the hallway. There will be fifty points taken from both Gryffindor and Slytherin."  
  
The two houses grumbled as they headed off to class, but there was still a buzz of excitement as the students discussed exactly what had gone on that morning.  
  
*****************  
  
After having their injuries looked after, the six people of the guilty party were ushered into Dumbledore's office. "Now," began Dumbledore quietly, "will someone please explain to me what happened this morning in the hallway?"  
  
James looked down at his feet and mumbled "Snape was insulting Lily, so I hit him." In Dumbledore's presence, it now seemed like a very silly reason to start a fight.  
  
"Ah. I see. Protecting your maiden's honor were you? And how did the rest of you get involved?"  
  
"Malfoy and Crabbe were going to help hurt James, so Remus and I stopped them," answered Sirius, his eyes flashing defensively. Malfoy and Crabbe were giving dirty looks.  
  
"And you see nothing wrong with that?"  
  
"In defending my friend? No."  
  
There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment, then Dumbledore spoke again. "Clearly all of you were in the wrong. I do not want this kind of behavior from any of you again. Do you understand?"  
  
All of them nodded slowly.  
  
"I could have you expelled, however, today I am in a generous mood. You will all be assigned detentions with Filch. You are dismissed."  
  
*****************  
  
Lily was sitting on the edge of her seat as the three returned to the common room after class. As soon as she spotted them, she ran to James and threw her arms about him. "James! Oh thank God! They didn't expel you did they?"  
  
"No," he answered, hugging her back. Remus and Sirius slipped quietly by them and up to the bedroom. "Lily?" he ventured.  
  
"Yes?" she answered quietly.  
  
"Where were you last night? You were supposed to show up at Hagrid's but you never did." He was cursing himself inwardly for even asking, but he couldn't get what Snape had said out of his mind.  
  
"I was...working on a project," she said with a nervous smile.  
  
"But I asked around, and no one said they saw you in here last night."  
  
"James, what is this about?"  
  
"Lily, you know you can trust me," he said, quoting her from before. "Tell me the truth, please! I told you when you asked."  
  
Her eyes searched him, and she said "Before I tell you, will you promise not to make judgements before I finish the whole story?"  
  
He nodded, and she took his hand and led him to the balcony. She took a deep breath, and then said "I was with Lord Voldemort. James, I'm a Death Eater."  
  
James blanched and backed away from her. "Oh my God. It's true!"  
  
She reached out and grabbed his wrist, her eyes burning into him. "You promised you'd let me finish!"  
  
James closed his eyes and nodded, steadying himself.  
  
"When I was coming home from my first year here, he was at my house." Lily's eyes filled with tears. "He was holding my parents hostage, and he threatened to unless I agreed to become his servant. So I did. I couldn't watch them die!" Lily then broke down, burying her face in her hands. "What was I supposed to do?"  
  
James watched her compassionately. She *was* a Death Eater, but not by choice. He couldn't hate her for that, but he could hate Voldemort. "Oh Lily," he sighed, pulling her into an embrace. She stiffened at first from surprise, but then melted against his side, weeping. "I understand. I would have done the same thing."  
  
"You would?" she said, her voice full of wonder.  
  
"Yes. If I had had the chance to save my parents, I would have. I understand what you're going through. It's hard to be alone."  
  
She wept harder. "James. You're such a great guy. I thought you would hate me."  
  
James pushed her back and looked her straight in the eye. "Lily, I could never hate you. I love you. And I promise, one day I'll destroy Voldemort so that he never bothers you again, and we can live in peace. One day, we'll live in a world with no Voldemort!"  
  
Lily smiled and laid her head on his shoulder. "I hope so," she sighed happily.  
  
"Erm...I have to go," said James sheepishly.  
  
She eyed him suspiciously "Why?"  
  
"I have detention with Filch."  
  
Lily laughed "Oh, alright then. Good luck."  
  
"Thanks, I'll need it."  
  
*****************  
  
Lily sighed happily as she ran a brush through her hair, studying her reflection in the mirror. She couldn't recall ever being happier. She had finally told James, and he had *accepted* her. Now, it was up to her to preserve that happiness. It was up to her to save them all from Voldemort. Her happiness vanished at the thought of facing him again, but she knew that if she played it right everything would turn out fine. She hoped.  
  
A/N: Alright, so I lied, it'll be a bit longer till I end this. But as I was listening to a remix of Lady Marmalade during Q102's 12 noon workout (which by the way I have nothing to do with Q102) I thought "wouldn't it be neat to send them to Paris?" So there you go. Hopefully I'll post again soon, but right now I'm working on two other stories (if u r a Star Wars fan check out `Faith in Old friends' which I co-wrote with Lady Pluto). Also look for my H/Hr fic "I'm Sorry". (Sorry, had to do a little shameless plugging there). PLLLEASSEE REVIEW! I have to know how I'm doing! Luvya! 


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: To the advantage of Ms. Rowling and the demise of myself, Harry Potter (and all characters not as important) do not belong to me.  
  
Lily pushed a strand of curly red-gold hair behind her ear as it fluttered in the winter wind. Fat snowflakes swirled down onto the London streets, lighting upon the huge train station behind her and lending the city a sort of clean charm. People bustled about James, Sirius, Peter and her, bags full of goods to put under the Christmas tree.  
  
When James had told her they were all spending winter break in France, she had been out of her mind with excitement. Lily had never traveled anywhere outside of England before, and this was a great first. However, she had sobered a bit when she remembered her engagement with Voldemort. Would he be able to find her in France? What happened if he couldn't?  
  
She assured herself with the thought that if the most powerful Dark Wizard in history couldn't find a not- quite- full witch, then he didn't deserve the title. Lily still hadn't told James about the upcoming encounter, though, even if he did know that she was a Death Eater. She knew what she had to do, and she knew if she told James he would go mad with jealousy. She couldn't afford to have him barging in and getting himself killed, so therefore such things were better left unmentioned. She wondered silently if she was forever condemned to keep secrets from James. Just when she opened up to him, that was when she had to close off again and suffer for it.  
  
In spite of all this, Lily was determined to enjoy as much of her vacation as she could.  
  
"Where is Remus?" whined Sirius, pulling his jacket closer about himself, "I'm freezing to death!"  
  
Remus had disappeared into the crowd in search of his Aunt, who was going to lead them all to a portkey hidden somewhere in the London streets, providing transport for the group of travelers. It was not a traditional way of transport, given, but it was very normal for them.  
  
"He'll probably be back soon," soothed James, pulling their luggage closer to him in order to keep people from tripping over it.  
  
Sure enough, Remus appeared a few moments later with a middle-aged woman dressed in a fur coat and hat. Her graying chestnut hair was pulled back into a tight bun, and her blue eyes ran over them sharply before she greeted them.  
  
"Is zis them, Remmie?" she said with an imperial air. Like Remus' mother, she had a French accent, but hers was much stronger and more noticeable.  
  
"Oui…I mean, yes," said Remus, switching back to English so that they could understand what he was saying. "This is Lily Evans," Lily gave a gracious smile and held out her hand, which the woman took solemnly, "this is James Potter, this is Sirius Black, and this is Peter Pettigrew." The woman shook each of their hands in turn.  
  
"And this is my aunt, Marie Cretier," added Remus, almost as an afterthought.  
  
"Zen let us go," she said, and turned on one spiked heel to march off in the opposite direction. The rest of them struggled to gather up their suitcases and went rushing after her.  
  
"She doesn't seem very polite, does she?" scoffed Lily, a little annoyed by the woman's brevity.  
  
"She could at least wait for us," grunted Sirius, shifting around his suitcases in order to get a better grip on them. "And who wears spiked heels in the snow?"  
  
Marie led them to a dark alleyway, and then stopped in front of an abandoned trashcan. "Let us all 'old 'ands," she commanded.  
  
Lily maneuvered her suitcase onto her feet, and grabbed James's, then Peter's hand. Marie then reached out, gripped the trashcan's lid, and Lily soon felt the familiar tugging behind her navel. The world went spiraling away, and then returned again as she crashed into the ground in an unceremonious heap with the rest of her friends. Only Marie was left standing.  
  
"I will be inside. You can get organized and zen I will tour you around my 'ouse," she said, and left them all lying there.  
  
"Oh yeah, she's a lovely woman, Remus," said Sirius, giving a wry little smile.  
  
"She might not be one for first impressions," said Remus, "but once you get to know her she's not half bad. She's just a little…ahh…"  
  
"Stuck up?" offered Sirius.  
  
"Then again, most of the French are," said James.  
  
"Yeah, thanks," Remus said dryly.  
  
"Oh, not you Remus," said James, "you're British."  
  
"You'd do better to keep your opinions to yourselves," scolded Lily, brushing her hair out of her face and struggling to her feet. The sight that greeted her caused her mouth to drop open in astonishment. Marie's home wasn't a *house*, it was a *mansion*! The huge building reminded her of Hogwarts, only on a much smaller scale, and a lot more modern. The fresh granite walls matched the white of the newly fallen snow, and the courtyard was lined with pine trees strung with lights. The windows glowed a cheery yellow, matching the distant glowing city behind it…Paris.  
  
"Oh, it's beautiful!" she exclaimed.  
  
All four boys turned to see what she was talking about, and reacted in much the same way.  
  
"Wow," sighed James.  
  
"I guess I should have mentioned that she was rich," said Remus wryly, who was already ahead of them dragging his suitcase through the snow, up the huge driveway.  
  
"I have a feeling that this is going to be a *great* vacation," said Sirius with an impish grin alight on his face.  
  
*****************  
  
After an extensive tour of the mansion, Lily found her association of the building with Hogwarts was not too far off the mark. The large stone hallways, the great dining hall, and various moving pictures and suits of armor all served to give the edifice a definite Hogwart-sy feel. It even had a local ghost that could be seen sweeping through the halls once in a while. They called her "Rose", and she was a small mischievous girl with a quick smile- Lily rather liked her. Apparently she had been an orphan when she was little, had run into some trouble on the streets, and now contented herself visiting various houses of the area in her spectral form.  
  
When the tour was done, the friends congregated around the huge dining table for dinner. Personally, Lily didn't know why one would need such a big table if they were living by themselves, but she didn't voice her opinion. Marie seemed to dislike them enough already- she spent most of her time ignoring them and doting on her nephew. Lily wondered that if when Remus had said she wasn't half-bad, he had meant that she wasn't half-bad when she was talking to *him*.  
  
Marie's house-elves had brought out an exotic meal for them, and James and Sirius had spent the first ten minutes shouting across the table at each other, debating which of the myriad of silverware to use first, while Marie looked on distastefully. Eventually, they gave up and picked up the one that came to their reach first.  
  
The meal was delicious, the drink was great, and the company was well kept. Before they knew it, all of them were up in their respective bedrooms, preparing for sleep. Lily sat down on the edge of her fluffy mattress, bouncing slightly in the process, and admired her surroundings. The room had dreamy look to it- the canopy of the bed floated lazily, a wispy powder- white mesh, and the dark green carpet resembled a graceful patch of spring grass. There was a single arched window across from the foot of the bed, three times Lily's height and nearly the width of the room, with the same wispy material serving as curtains. Lily pulled them back tonight, revealing the white half moon and stars shining brightly in the crisp winter night. The moonlight illuminated the room, tracing patterns and shadows across the walls and floors. She closed her eyes and sighed happily, playing the edge of the silk sheets between her fingers.  
  
"Lily," James said softly behind her, causing her to nearly jump out of her skin.  
  
"Oh! I didn't hear you come in," she cried, her voice muffled near the end of her exclamation by James's hand.  
  
"Shhh," he soothed her, his face close to hers, his eyes shining brightly in the semi-darkness, "I'm not supposed to be here, remember."  
  
She shoved his hand away and leaned in closer to him, her voice a low conspiratorial whisper, "What *are* you doing here?"  
  
"I'm just visiting my favorite person during the holidays. Is there any crime in that?" he whispered jovially, plopping down beside her on the bed.  
  
"There is when you aren't *supposed* to be doing it. Remus's Aunt specifically said…"  
  
"Oh, she's got her nose too far up her arse to notice, anyway."  
  
"James!"  
  
"It's true."  
  
Lily thought for a moment, then laughed softly. "It is."  
  
"See? I'm always right," smiled James, snaking an arm around her waist.  
  
She leaned her head comfortably on his shoulder and commented "Well. Not always."  
  
"When was I not?"  
  
"Hmmm. I seem to remember a time when a certain someone said there was no possible way McGonagall would catch him cheating, and then had to spend a day doing detention, *and* failed the test. And then there was…"  
  
"Alright! Alright. But *most* of the time I'm right."  
  
"Most of the time," Lily conceded, and they lapsed into a comfortable silence.  
  
"Lily?" James asked, a bit hesitantly.  
  
"Yes James?" she answered, twisting around her head in order to get a better look at him.  
  
"What's wrong?" he said, catching her off guard.  
  
"What? Nothing's wrong."  
  
"Yes, there is. I may not always be right about some things, but I'm always right about *you*. I've known you for seven years, and there's definitely something wrong. You've been too withdrawn lately, Lily. So tell me what's wrong."  
  
"Nothing. *Really*," she said with conviction, trying valiantly to keep her secret hidden from him.  
  
"C'mon. You know you can tell me. You've already told me about being a Death Eater, right?"  
  
"I…" she began, but stopped, lost in thought. If she told James, he surely would prevent her from carrying out her plan, and then he would be killed. She couldn't allow that…because if he died, then she would die too- at least, spiritually. She would not allow him to be hurt for her sake. She had to push him away, to save him. It would be hard, but she had to, for his sake. And hopefully her sanity would endure thereafter.  
  
"James, we should end this," she whispered, staring down at her hands wringing in her lap. Her voice was remarkably composed, she thought, for being so torn inside.  
  
"W...what?" murmured James, sounding absolutely pitiful.  
  
"I said, we should end this. It isn't working James."  
  
"What do you mean this isn't working? If it's because of the Death Eater thing I…"  
  
"No James, don't make this harder then it has to be," Lily sighed, standing up and walking to the window.  
  
"I'm sorry this is just…quite sudden," he said, edging up behind her. "And fishy. I ask if something's wrong, and you respond by pushing me away. Let me guess…this has something to do with Voldemort."  
  
"No! No. Yes. Maybe." Damn him, why did he have to be so perceptive?  
  
"No, yes, maybe?" he asked wryly. "So which is it? You know you can't keep things from me." He slid his arms about her waist, and hugged her close.  
  
So much for pushing him away. Maybe she was lucky, for having such a faithful man. But he was getting in over his head. /Like you are already? He's a grown man. Let him make his own decisions…like you did./  
  
"Severus told Lord Voldemort about you. He was upset that you had supposedly tricked him, so he went to Voldemort and told him that I dated you. Lord Voldemort…well, I don't know if he can truly love someone. Maybe it is love. Or maybe obsession is the right word. But either way, he's infatuated with me, apparently, and when he found out…he said that he would kill you. And Remus and Sirius, too... I guess that had something to do with Severus. So I made a deal with him…he's to come to me, the night of Christmas eve, and I'm going to…change his mind." Her confession had come out in a rush of words so fast, that she wasn't sure James had caught it.  
  
But he had. "Exactly what does…changing his mind entail?" he asked dully.  
  
"Sleeping with him." Lily said simply. There was no point in dancing around the fact.  
  
James went silent behind her for a while. He was doing some quick thinking, Lily recognized.  
  
"I'll go to him, Lily, and I'll fight him…"  
  
"No, James, this is exactly why…"  
  
"…and you won't have to…"  
  
"…I won't have you getting hurt…"  
  
"…and then all the horrible stuff that's been happening…"  
  
"James, no! No. You can't. Lord Voldemort is *not* Snape. He's not weak. If you fight him, James, you'll be seriously hurt, and I won't have that. I forbid you to fight him."  
  
"You can't forbid me to do anything!" cried James, his eyes flashing.  
  
"Then, we should end it."  
  
James sighed, and ran a hand through his hair, trying to get his temper back under control. "Come what may," he murmured.  
  
"What?" asked Lily.  
  
"Come what may," he repeated, louder this time. "We can't let this come between us. No matter what happens, we can't let it affect our relationship. Because we made a promise… come what may."  
  
"But…how can I trust that you won't come after me? That you won't be jealous?"  
  
"I won't," James said firmly.  
  
"Do you promise?"  
  
"I promise. Come what may."  
  
"Come what may," Lily agreed, hugging James close. "And everything will be alright, won't it?"  
  
"Everything will be fine, Lily."  
  
Then his mouth came down upon hers, and all the worry melted away. That night, James did not leave Lily's bedroom.  
  
*****************  
  
As James and Lily were having their encounter, Remus and Sirius, who had decided that they couldn't sleep, were playing a game of wizard's chess in front of Marie's huge fireplace in the living room.  
  
"Check," called Remus with a smug smile.  
  
"Damn," cursed Sirius softly. The only way to get out of it was to sacrifice his queen. Remus's own queen was busy making threatening gestures at her.  
  
But it felt good to be hanging out with Remus again, even if he was losing. Somewhere along the line, and Sirius wasn't quite sure when, Remus had given up on being angry at him and the two had started to talk again. However, neither one of them ever mentioned the incident at the Shrieking Shack.  
  
"C'mon, Sirius, you know what you have to do," Remus said, a definite predatory grin on his face. There were times when Remus behaved almost exactly like the wolf, although they weren't often.  
  
"Oh, I know what I have to do, I just don't feel like doing it," said Sirius lightly. An insistent tapping on the living room window saved him from making the suicidal move.  
  
"What's that?" said Remus curiously, walking over to the window and sliding it open. An owl flew in, and circled a few times around the living room, before perching on Remus's shoulder and allowing him to untie the message that it carried. Once the burden was gone, it flew straight out the window again.  
  
"That was a ministry owl," said Sirius, propping his chin on his hand and studying Remus curiously.  
  
"It's addressed to me," said Remus, sounding a bit amazed. He quickly slit open the envelope and began to read the message. His face went pale, and the letter dropped to the floor through numb fingers. "Oh my god," he said in a barely audible whisper.  
  
"Remus what? What is it?" cried Sirius, on his feet in a heartbeat.  
  
"It…I..." stammered Remus, still in a state of shock. Then, he abruptly turned from the room and dashed up the steps.  
  
"What the hell?" murmured Sirius under his breath. He walked over to the forsaken letter and read it.  
  
Dear Mr. Lupin,  
  
We of the Ministry of Magic are sorry to inform you of an attack on our headquarters this morning. Your parents were among the casualties. We express our deepest sympathies to you, and implore you to arrive at the Ministry as soon as possible so that matters may be worked out between us.  
  
With deepest regrets,  
  
1 Tom Bradbury, Magical Casualties Branch  
  
"Oh, God," gasped Sirius. "Remus…" Remus's parents had died! Quickly pocketing the letter so that no one else could read it, he dashed up the steps after his friend.  
  
"Remus!" he called softly, knocking on his bedroom door.  
  
"Go away, Sirius," came Remus's reply, weak and tearful.  
  
Sirius, however, ignored him and tried the doorknob. It was unlocked.  
  
Sirius tread softly into the room, and shut the door behind him. Remus was perched on the edge of his bed, head buried in his hands.  
  
"Moony," he said gently, sliding down next to him. "Remmie, you all right?"  
  
"Yes, I'm fine, everything's perfect," he said sarcastically between sobs. "My whole world's only gone crashing down around me! Goddamnit, Sirius, what do you think? Yeah, my parents die every f***ing day, by now I'm used to it."  
  
"Hey, calm down, I'm just trying to help you!" cried Sirius defensively.  
  
"Yeah, well, you're not doing a very good job of it," Remus answered with a bland smile. "I told you, just leave me alone."  
  
Sirius, however, was adamant. "No, you shouldn't be alone now."  
  
And with that said, he drew Remus into his arms. Remus struggled half- heartedly, then gave up and melted against Sirius's side. He buried his face in Sirius's neck and wept.  
  
Sirius was at a loss for words. All he could do was hold Remus, and murmur meaningless comforts. After all, this had never happened to him before- the tragedy had never struck so close to home. What does one say to a friend after -as Remus had said- their whole world goes crashing down around them?  
  
His confusion then turned quickly to anger. He raged silently at the world for putting Remus in such a compromising position in the first place, for making him live with the curse of being a werewolf. He damned Voldemort for his reckless spreading of death and destruction. He probably didn't care that he took away the only true family that this boy had. He probably didn't even think twice before whipping out his wand. Then he raged again at the world for being so cruel as to destine that Remus's parents would die.  
  
Remus was alone now. And, Sirius knew, he hated being alone. It scared the hell out of him, just a little less then did the full moon. Maybe it was because society had hated and shunned him all his life.  
  
Then it hit Sirius. Yes, that is what he would say to him, that is what was probably bothering him most.  
  
"Remus," he said softly, holding his friend at arm's length. He found Remus's gaze and held it, eyes burning with a rare truth. "Remus," he repeated. "You are not alone. I promise, I will always be here. I…and James, and Lily, and Peter… we will be your family now. You're not alone, do you hear me? We love you. All of us. I…" Sirius hesitated, and looked down to stare at the bed sheets. "I love you."  
  
Remus took hold of Sirius's face gently and forced him to look at him again. What Sirius found there, in his gaze, startled him. It was love, bright and burning, and gratitude, and sorrow, all at once. It was the most intense gaze that Sirius had ever experienced. Because, Sirius noticed, it was not just that Remus was looking at him…it was the wolf, too. His eyes shone golden in the dim.  
  
"Thank you," came his reply, in a hoarse whisper. "Thank you, Sirius. I love you, too."  
  
For the second time that night, Sirius found that he was at a loss for words. But this time, it was okay, because he found that he couldn't speak anyway- Remus's lips were covering his own.  
  
How long they stayed like that, Sirius didn't know, but eventually they broke apart, and Remus buried himself in Sirius's arms. They laid like that together for the rest of the night, just taking comfort in each other's presence, and forgetting about the rest of the world. Happiness was rare these days, and when you had it, you tried your best not to let it go.  
  
A/N: Tsk, tsk, such language Remus! But the poor man- I don't know why I torture my characters so.  
  
In any case, I know it's been a while, but I've finally recovered from a horrible case of writer's block and lack of time! I'm back! So what did you think? Don't forget to review…I'm a total review junkie^-^ (And please no flames about S/R, or I'll find out where you live and come after you!) LOL…just kidding. But please, NO S/R FLAMES!  
  
Next chapter…traveling the infamous Paris nightclubs! ^-^ 


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: To the advantage of Ms. Rowling and the demise of myself, Harry Potter (and all characters not as important) do not belong to me. The song briefly mentioned is "Can't get you out of my head" (I think) by Kylie Minode (sp?). Ah, well you guys know it doesn't belong to me, I just heard it on the radio.  
  
*****************  
  
"This is the most popular nightclub in Paris," said Remus with a smile, waving his hand to take in the expanse.  
  
"Yes, it most certainly looks it," said Lily, in awe. The club was compromised of two vast floors, a ground level that made a sort-of balcony circling a basement floor and branching off backwards into various rooms, each with their own DJ. The basement floor itself was one huge dance flat, a spectacle of lights and riot of colors, vibrating with rhythms that the DJ was playing. Although the building was incomprehensibly large (if you spent the whole day there, Lily thought, you still wouldn't be able to explore all of the rooms) it was packed with people. They were crowded into every room, and mobbed the main dance floor. They bumped and jived under strobe lights, bathed in smoke, danced under lights of every color fathomable. Poles suspended on platforms above the crowd housed particularly exotic-looking dancers, dressed after the manner of France in cutting-edge fashion and heavily made up. In fact, most of the people present were dressed in outlandish garb. Lily had to be careful not to stare.  
  
"This is great!" James cried over the music- a harsh beat that almost drowned out the woman singing in another language. "I'm glad we decided to come."  
  
It was Christmas Eve. In an effort to cheer up Remus from the depression he had been in ever since his parents had died (although he denied that he was depressed, he had been acting strangely) the group had planned an excursion to the nightclubs of Paris. With a promise to Marie to be back before dawn, and to be careful, they set off with the spirit of the holidays alight in their hearts.  
  
"Alright," said Sirius in an aside to Lily, James, and Peter as he pushed Remus ahead of him, "I'm going to go get him drunk. It'll be good for him." He winked and pointed to the bar.  
  
" 'Good for him?!' " exclaimed Lily.  
  
"Good luck," said Peter wryly.  
  
James just laughed. "He'll be the one getting wasted, believe me," he told Peter and Lily when Sirius traveled out of earshot (which wasn't very far).  
  
"James…I don't know if this is such a good…" Lily started, but James silenced her with a kiss.  
  
"We'll check back on them later. Don't worry. Let's go dance!" James grabbed her hand and pulled her down the balcony steps to the basement dance floor. Peter trailed a little bit behind them, gawking at the surroundings.  
  
They found a spot to squeeze in, and Lily laughed as James danced horribly on purpose. He stopped when they started to draw strange stares from the people around them. The music in the background then switched to an English singer.  
  
*I just can't get you outta my head  
  
Boy, your loving is all I think about…*  
  
"Oh, I like this song!" cried Lily, grabbing James's hand and pulling him close.  
  
"Uh- you've heard it before?" said James.  
  
"Yes, it's very popular in the muggle world." Lily then smiled seductively at him. "So let's dance then," she cooed.  
  
James smiled back at her. "Yes, let's," he growled.  
  
Peter, in seeing his other friends otherwise occupied either drinking or dancing, found other people to spend time with. If only he could speak French.  
  
*****************  
  
The night sped quickly away. Lily soon found herself exhausted from her exertions, and had to drag James off for a drink and a place to cool off.  
  
"Besides," she had said, "we should check on Sirius and Remus anyway."  
  
They made their way up to the bar, and found that that was indeed where their friends were spending their time.  
  
"Wasted yet?" asked James after they had picked up some soda and went to join them.  
  
"Naw," answered Sirius, "this stuff is weak. It's more water then anything."  
  
"You two looked good out there," observed Remus.  
  
"Mainly thanks to me," teased Lily, fanning herself.  
  
"Too true, too true," sighed Sirius. "James, old boy, I hate to break it to you, but she is definitely hotter than you."  
  
James smiled. "I know," he said.  
  
Lily was dressed in a tight spaghetti- strapped red dress that flared out to the knees. Her hair was highlighted perfectly by the dress, and was pulled intricately back from her head. She made a lovely picture.  
  
As James continued to talk with his friends, Lily scanned the crowd once again, soaking in the sights. Somehow, she knew that this night was important, and she wanted to remember every detail of it, right down to the last fantastically dressed patron.  
  
One particular person caught her eye. He was cowled all in black, and standing back in the shadows- oh, God. Lily stiffened, clutching her drink tighter. Oh, God, it was Voldemort- that was why he had caught her eye. He was waiting- for her.  
  
"James," she whispered through numb lips.  
  
"Lily?" he asked, putting down their drinks and gripping her shoulders. "What is it? What's wrong?"  
  
"It's Christmas Eve." James caught on immediately, and just as quickly found Voldemort in the crowd.  
  
"You don't have to do this," he said urgently. "You don't have to do this. I don't want you to. Please, I don't want you to."  
  
"But, if I don't, then you'll die," she said thickly, speaking as if in a daze.  
  
"No, please don't. Maybe I won't die- maybe we…"  
  
"No!" she cried, awaking from her daze. "No, you'll die James. I know it."  
  
"How do you know?"  
  
"I just do. Some things- I just know. I can't explain it. But, I have to do this. Come what may, remember?"  
  
"No," said James, shaking his head vehemently.  
  
"What's going on?" asked Sirius, but he went unheeded, and he and Remus were left in the dark. James and Lily were in their own world at the moment, unconscious of anything around them.  
  
Lily reached out to James and drew him toward her slowly, pressing her cheek to his. "Yes. You promised. You promised me."  
  
"I…" he started, but Lily shushed him.  
  
"Everything will be alright, I promise. It will all be fine."  
  
"No," he repeated again, unable to think of anything else to say to convey his feelings. Lily couldn't do this…she just couldn't. She was *his*, they were each other's. They belonged to each other. Voldemort shouldn't enter into it, he didn't belong, he shouldn't be able to control them like this. Shouldn't be able to control Lily. Because…because she was his. It won't be all right.*This wasn't right.*  
  
But before he could protest further, she was gone. Her hand slipped through his, a wisp of smoke caressing his skin, and she backed into the crowd, a ghost-like apparition. James felt like he was falling, deep, then deeper into a black void, with no one there to pull him out. He felt as if he'd never see her again.  
  
Dimly, he perceived someone gripping his shoulder, and then shaking him vehemently.  
  
"Huh?" he said thickly.  
  
"Where the hell is she going?" Sirius demanded urgently, still gripping his shoulder. "Who's that she's with? James? James, come on, this isn't a good time for your brain to take a vacation!"  
  
"He's really out of it," said Peter, who had just arrived when he sensed trouble.  
  
Sirius turned James around sharply and slapped him across the face in one smooth quick motion. "Snap out of it!" he cried.  
  
James staggered, bringing a hand up to his face, and then came instantly back to reality.  
  
"Ow," he moaned.  
  
"Sorry, mate, I had to," apologized Sirius. "What just happened here? That didn't look like such a pleasant personage for Lily to run off with."  
  
"Voldemort!" James cried. "Voldemort…Lily's gone…and run off with Voldemort!"  
  
"Shhh, not so loud," said Sirius. "Voldemort? C'mon."  
  
Sirius took James's wrist and hauled him through the crowd, running at breakneck speed. Peter lagged behind. Soon, they reached a door and shoved through. It led to a narrow dark, dank alley. The buildings towered above it, and trash was strewn about the ground.  
  
"This was the way that Remus went," Sirius murmured, almost to himself.  
  
"Where is Remus?" asked Peter anxiously.  
  
"We saw Lily leaving with that guy- Voldemort, and figured that something was up. So, Remus agreed to track them. I know they went out this way, problem is, which way did they go after that?"  
  
"Well, there's only one of two ways they could have went," said James, pointing right and then left down the alley. "Why don't we split up and…"  
  
"Doggy!" James was cut off by the sound of a little girl's voice. Rosie the ghost came running down the narrow passage, her ethereal body lighting up the alley, all smiles. She stopped in front of Sirius, hands clasped behind her back. "Doggy, I found you!"  
  
Sirius had shown Rosie his transformation once, and since then she had favored him, nick-naming him "doggy."  
  
"Sorry, Rosie, I can't play now," said Sirius. "We have to find our friend."  
  
Rosie looked disappointed for a moment, then she smiled again. "Oh, the nice pretty lady. I know where she is!"  
  
"You do?" cried James, forcing his way in front of Sirius. "Can you tell us? Can you take us to her?"  
  
Rosie made a face. "Not if you're going to be *rude* about it," she said, crossing her arms over her chest.  
  
"Rosie," said Sirius gently, "let's play a game. Follow the leader, okay? You take us to Lily, and we'll follow you."  
  
Rosie clapped her hands together. "I like games!" she cried. "Okay, follow me!"  
  
And with that, Rosie went flying down the alleyway, leading the group in the chase of their lives. Hopefully, they weren't too late.  
  
*****************  
  
It wasn't that hard to track them, Remus decided. Since the time that they left the club, Remus had pieced together by hearing snatches from their conversation that it was Voldemort Lily was with. However, there were no signs of the Death Eaters. He guessed Voldemort thought he would be safe enough here without them.  
  
Which made tracking them easy. As they walked along the various alleyways and streets, Remus ran along the rooftops, his wolf-enhanced eyes gathering the dim light and keeping sharp watch over the two. He was very, very careful to keep himself hidden.  
  
That was the hard part. Because all he felt like doing at the moment was jumping Voldemort and wringing the life out of him, for killing his parents. He had to keep reminding himself that that was quite impossible, and he would be doing better watching over Lily.  
  
Just when his meager self-control was about to snap, Voldemort led Lily into an old, tall tower, rather resembling a cathedral. Remus leapt from his current rooftop and hurried after them.  
  
They weaved through hundreds of ancient passageways, going up, up, until at last they were at the very top chamber. Voldemort led Lily into the room and shut the door. Remus stalked up and pressed his back against it, blowing out a breath. Now what? Should he go back to get his friends, or just wait here? Should he help Lily? He wasn't sure if she needed his help…she didn't seem like she was being mistreated in any way. She was behaving more like an accomplice than a prisoner.  
  
Well, decided Remus, if she did need him, he would be here.  
  
Remus sat down against the door, pulled his knees up to his chin, and waited.  
  
*****************  
  
Lily surveyed the room with an imperial air, and then strode over to the fireplace. She didn't want to seem weak in front of Voldemort. She needed to be the one in control tonight, or at least pretend to be, she knew. Or else everything might not go as planned.  
  
Voldemort glided up behind her, offering her a glass of champagne. She took it gracefully.  
  
"You were with him again," said Voldemort.  
  
"Yes," she said simply. "Am I not supposed to be?"  
  
Voldemort was so close behind her that she could feel his breath on her neck. "I told you that you were not to date him."  
  
She tutted, and took a sip of the champagne. "Please, my Lord. I do not date him. I only hang around him and his idiot companions because they are powerful." She turned and smiled wickedly at him. "Neither Lucious nor Severus make that cut, I'm afraid."  
  
Voldemort returned her wicked smile. "Yes, that is true. They are weak servants."  
  
"Then why do you listen to Severus's suggestion? My Lord, he is just using your power to gain his own personal ends. It is no secret that he shares animosity with James and the others, but he is too weak to be rid of them himself. Of course he would turn to you."  
  
Voldemort looked thoughtful for a moment, sipping at his own drink and striding over to the balcony that the room offered. Lily followed close behind him. Finally, he spoke. "They are my servants, Lily. When one of them asks a favor of me, I shall make it so."  
  
"Of course, of course my lord, I understand completely. But why should someone as powerful as you are be subjected to the petty troubles of an underling?"  
  
Voldemort set down his glass and looked her straight in the eye. With the flick of a hand, he conjured up the most beautiful diamond necklace that Lily had ever seen. For a moment she was breathless, her fingers dancing across the smooth, cool stones.  
  
He fastened it behind her neck. "I will do my best to satisfy the needs of my servants, if they offer me their loyalty and efforts," he whispered in her ear. "Do you understand?"  
  
"Yes," she breathed.  
  
"Good." Lily stifled a shiver of disgust as she felt Voldemort's lips press against her neck. "We could be the ultimate power in the universe, you and I, Lily. You possess extraordinary powers, extraordinary powers that even you do not fully realize yet. We shall be royalty. A king, powerful and merciless, and his queen, terrible in her power and her beauty. All shall love you and despair, Lily. I could give all this to you if you'd only agree to join me. I could give you a life of majesty. No one will forget your name, ever."  
  
Lily gasped. She could be a Queen, a ruler. The fate of the world would rest in her hands. She would never need or want in her lifetime again. Power. Ultimate power. The only price would be spending her life with Voldemort. Maybe that wasn't so bad, after all…  
  
Dimly she remembered that there was another reason she came here tonight.  
  
"Nnnn," she sighed. "So, with you and I joined together, could we then forget about James?"  
  
"Whatever you wish, my Queen," growled Voldemort.  
  
Queen. That title sounded good, Lily thought.  
  
What Lily failed to realize was that she was no longer the one in control anymore.  
  
*****************  
  
Rosie finally halted on the steps of an ancient edifice. It towered up into the gray storm clouds, slimy in the freezing rain that was falling. With that impish smile of hers, Rosie pointed upwards. "She's up there, in the *very* top," she said.  
  
"Thank you Rosie," smiled Sirius, hugging his jacket closer to himself so as to block out the cold wet rain. "Maybe we can play later."  
  
Rosie's smile broadened. "Okay! But first, you have to save the pretty lady."  
  
And with that, she disappeared. Sirius and Peter hurried up the steps and threw open the door, rushing inside. Sirius skidded to a stop as he realized that James was no longer beside him.  
  
He was standing out on the street, staring frozen up at the tower.  
  
"Damn," cursed Sirius under his breath. "James!" he hissed, trying not to be loud so as not to draw unwanted attention to them. "James! What are you doing?"  
  
But James did not heed him. Because there, at the top of the tower, was Lily. His Lily. In Voldemort's arms. James was enraged and shocked beyond the point of awareness. He had known what Lily had come here to do, but the actual *sight* of it was driving him mad. "Lily," he whispered through numb lips, and knew somehow that his love for this woman would be the death of him, and wished that he could stop loving her. But the simple truth of it was he could not, and so he simply stood there and stared.  
  
Up on the balcony, Lily froze at the sight of her lover on the street. She locked eyes with him, and time slowed. As she continued the contact, she began to remember everything. Warmth. Love. Happiness. They seemed like a dream, so very far away, so unreal. She… couldn't have felt those things, could she? This was her reality…wasn't it? This cold, power hungry….thing behind her was her reality. She was going to be his queen. She was going to be powerful. But she wasn't going to be happy.  
  
However, if she chose a life with James, she could feel those things again. Warmth, love happiness, a home, and a tiny baby boy.  
  
Slowly, unwittingly, lips moving as if talking in her sleep, Lily formed ones harp word: "No!"  
  
"No?" hissed Voldemort. "No?"  
  
Then he followed her gaze down onto the street, and there saw James standing. "Oh, I see. I see!"  
  
He whipped out his wand in a swift clean movement and cried: "Avada Kedavara!"  
  
"NOOO!" Lily pleaded, hanging onto his wand arm, but she was too late. It was done.  
  
Voldemort took her and threw her into the room, shutting the door to the balcony behind them.  
  
Lily crumpled to the floor. "NO! James, oh god, how could you, how could?" she whimpered hysterically.  
  
"You sniveling woman," Voldemort cried, his voice rising to a high pitch in his anger. "If I can't have you, then no one can! You lied, you lied to me! You'll pay!" He held his wand in front of him, and cried "Cruciatis!"  
  
Waves of pain coursed through Lily's body, adding to her ardent despair and grief. She screamed, weeping and helpless for once in her life. And alone. Alone…  
  
*****************  
  
A scream tore at Remus's ears, horrible and tortured. He gasped and put his hands to his ears, until he realized that it was Lily who the scream belonged to.  
  
He turned, and in one powerful motion kicked down the door. It took him a heartbeat to absorb the scene- Lily, sobbing on the floor, and Voldemort standing in front of her with his wand in the air- and then he moved.  
  
He *willed* the change to come, called the wolf to him, and it came. One moment he was human, and the next he was wolf, moving with a hunter's clear, trained mind, none of the human weakness holding him. Except, since it was not the full moon, he was not in a frenzied rage. He had full control of himself, and he knew what he wanted. That thing's blood in his mouth, the sweet taste of revenge.  
  
Moony snarled and leapt. One hundred and fifty pounds of muscle hit Voldemort, and then he was knocked down, pinned to the floor beneath the wolf, too shocked to move. His wand skittered across the smooth stone floor, meters out of reach.  
  
Moony smiled- a twisted, stiff grin on the wolf's face, and growled softly. All too easy. Now, now his parent's killer was at his mercy. He brought his jaws slowly down upon his prey's neck, enjoying every moment, playing with his prey.  
  
Lily gasped for breath and struggled to her feet. She knew at once whom it was that had saved her, and she was grateful to her friend.  
  
Lily hurried across the room and took up Voldemort's wand, holding it at ready in case Remus failed.  
  
Now Voldemort was going to pay for all the things he had done, one way or another.  
  
*****************  
  
It seemed as if the moment was in slow motion to Sirius.  
  
He heard the curse echo down from the tower, bouncing around the surrounding buildings and amplifying the sound.  
  
And then a bright, sickly green flash of light was heading towards his best friend in the entire world.  
  
"NOOO! JAMES!" yelled Sirius, rushing toward him, willing himself to move fast, but he couldn't move fast enough- it was as if he was caught in a nightmare. This couldn't be really happening. Any moment now he would wake up, and be back in the Gryffindor tower, and getting ready to play another prank with his friends. They were only seventeen years old. None of them should be facing a life and death situation.  
  
And yet here he was, and there was James, and it was real. And he was too late. The green was inches away from James.  
  
Just when all hope had left him, just when Sirius was collapsing to his knees, then suddenly a ghostly little girl appeared.  
  
It was Rosie. And she was standing, arms and legs spread wide, before James.  
  
The green flash of death hit her, and sparked, and fizzled, lighting Rosie with a green aura, but not moving past her. And then it was over, and James was alive, and Rosie was- disappearing.  
  
"It is over," she sighed happily. "Now I'm going to see my parents. Goodbye, Doggy!"  
  
"Rosie! Wait!" called Sirius. "What just happened?"  
  
Rosie smiled. "Since I am not alive, the Avada Kedavara curse does not affect me. In fact, when the spell hits a ghost- like me- it is neutralized, because we are one in the same- an embodiment of death."  
  
Sirius marveled at how old she seemed, all of the sudden.  
  
"I have done what I was sent here to do, and now I can go back to my parents. Goodbye, Doggy, and good luck!"  
  
"Thank you Rosie," murmured Sirius, as the last of the ghost sparkled in the air and then disappeared.  
  
"James!" he cried, jumping to his feet and embracing his friend. "Are you all right?"  
  
James hugged Sirius in return, and said dreamily, "I'm alive."  
  
Sirius laughed. "Yes, you are. Now come on, let's go kick some Voldemort ass!"  
  
James smiled, at last coming back to himself. "Yes, let's, Padfoot my friend," he said, half-jesting, and took his friend's hand, leading him up the steps and towards the balcony.  
  
*****************  
  
Moony was finished playing. Voldemort was starting to fight back, so now it was time to kill.  
  
Just as he was about to, Sirius and James burst through the door, Peter hanging back behind them.  
  
"Moony?" said Sirius, confused. But as he saw what the wolf was about to do, the confusion left him and he moved.  
  
"Moony, no!" he cried, and transformed. He tumbled over the wolf from Voldemort and the two went rolling across the floor. Moony blinked at him, as if to say "What did you do that for?"  
  
"James?" said Lily, numb with disbelief. That wasn't him. It couldn't be! He was dead.  
  
But the apparition turned and smiled at her, throwing open his arms. "Lily!" he cried.  
  
"James!" It really was him! She ran and threw her arms about his neck, tears blurring her vision. "How?"  
  
"It's a long story. I'll tell you later."  
  
Voldemort had climbed to his feet, burning with anger. "You'll pay!" he cried. "All of you!"  
  
"I don't think so," said James, raising his wand. Beside him, Lily raised Voldemort's wand that she had procured. Peter, in the doorway, raised his (although he was trembling a lot). And across the room, Remus and Sirius, both de-transformed, raised theirs. He was trapped, with no way to defend himself.  
  
"You will be the one to pay, Voldemort," said Sirius. "Pay for all the evil that you have done, right here, right now."  
  
Five different curses shot out and met in the center of the room, assailing Voldemort and lighting the entire room in a brilliant white flash. For a moment, the company was blinded.  
  
And the next moment, Voldemort was gone.  
  
"What happened?" cried Sirius.  
  
"His wand- it's gone!" gasped Lily, staring at her empty hands and then searching around the ground.  
  
They all stood silent and stunned, until Sirius spoke up.  
  
"That's a good thing isn't it, though? I mean, that he's gone."  
  
"Yeah, I guess you're right. He can't bother us anymore, anyway, if he's not here," agreed James.  
  
Lily reached out and took James's hand into her own. "Let's go home," she said warmly.  
  
And the five friends, hand in hand, traveled home for the holidays. Together.  
  
*****************  
  
A/N: I'd like to thank She-wolf and all of you guys who reviewed and gave support for the whole S/R thing. This story, I knew, was going to be as much S/R as J/L, but I listed under J/L anyway. I understood that most of the people who were reading this would not have come into contact with S/R before, so I toned it down and wrote it as best as I could, to try and introduce people to it as I was introduced. It still required you to be open-minded about some things, though, and a pat on the back to those of you who were. You really are fine people!  
  
This was a long time in coming (though not quite as long as last time!) but I really put a lot of time and effort into this chapter. It really was very involved, and I've been working up to this point for months now (my favorite part of the story!). I was going for *quality* not quickness.  
  
If you liked the werewolf thing, I recommend you read "The Silver Wolf" by Alice Borchardt, which I took most of my ideas from. (It's a really good book, especially if you're interested in history i.e. Ancient Rome!)  
  
And finally, look for the last chapter, in which I will tie up loose ends and a lot of things will be explained…. Cheers! 


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: Yeah. Whatever. See the last nine disclaimers.  
  
/ flashbacks/. Normal print is present time. During this chapter I will be telling about the graduation ceremony, but a lot of flashbacks will be occurring. Most of them will not be in any particular order. They will be merely covering important events that happened from Christmas to June, and like I said before, tying up loose ends. However, the graduation will be in a continuous time flow.  
  
A/N: Sorry, again, this took so long, You know what? I hate school. I hate finals, I hate the SAT's, and I especially hate the SAT II's. Whoever said you had to know grammar to write anyway? But given time and inspiration, I've finished the story! (tee-hee, Dumbledore's walking across my TV screen…) Right, anyway, on to the last chapter!  
  
*****************  
  
The Hogwarts graduates waited with bated breath as Dumbledore made his way up to the podium, list of students in hand. After what seemed like an eternity of speeches from the teachers, it was finally time to accept their diplomas.  
  
Dumbledore's voice rang out over the crowd, announcing the first graduate. "Able, Rebecca." Rebecca leapt from her seat, beaming, and ascended the floating platform in front of the audience. A round of cheers greeted Rebecca as she accepted her diploma, and then turned and waved it in the air with great enthusiasm.  
  
Lily grinned and squeezed James's hand tightly, humming with excitement and yet still nervous.  
  
"Don't worry," James murmured in her ear. "I'm sure you'll do fine. You always do."  
  
Lily sighed, smoothing the paper in her lap. "I'm glad you think so. I'm just hoping I won't get sick in the middle of it."  
  
James laughed. Lily was graduating at the top of the class, so it was up to her to deliver the traditional Valedictorian speech. She had been reading him the various speeches that she had come up with over the past few weeks, and although James loved them all, she never seemed quite satisfied. She finally decided on one that James hadn't heard yet.  
  
*****************  
  
/"Merry Christmas," said James as he handed Lily the gift he had painstakingly picked out for her. In spite of the excitement of the previous night, all five of them still managed to get up in the morning and exchange presents. James had saved Lily's for last.  
  
"Oh!" exclaimed Lily. "What is it?" She inspected the small package curiously.  
  
"Open it," encouraged James.  
  
With great relish, Lily ripped off the paper and opened the box. "James," she breathed as she pulled the present out, "It's beautiful. How could you ever afford this?"  
  
A small, silver locket hung on a long silver thread, sparkling in the morning sun. On it was engraved a single Lily flower.  
  
"I can't accept this!"  
  
James shook his head. "Nonsense. Look inside."  
  
A picture of the Marauders and Lily, taken during their first year at Hogwarts, was revealed. All six were smiling and laughing, still carefree and young.  
  
"Thank you," she smiled, and threw her arms around James's neck. It wasn't diamonds, but it meant so much more to her.  
  
"I love you," said James./  
  
*****************  
  
"Isn't this great?" cried Sirius over the cheers. "Who'dve ever thought that *we*, the pranksters, would have made it here! I'dve thought we would have been expelled a while ago."  
  
"Cheers, my good friend!" laughed James.  
  
"Cheers!" Sirius answered.  
  
"Black, Sirius," called Dumbledore, smiling as he did so.  
  
Remus hugged Sirius. "Go on," he laughed.  
  
James reached over and thumped Sirius on the back, as did Peter. Lily hugged him and kissed his cheek. "Congratulations."  
  
With an impish smile on his face, Sirius ascended the platform.  
  
*****************  
  
/Sirius watched as Remus moved up to the freshly laden graves, laying a bouquet of flowers atop them.  
  
"Good bye Mom, Dad. May you rest in peace," Remus choked through his tears.  
  
He felt warm arms encircle him, lifting him up and away from his grief.  
  
"Sirius," he said, wiping his face. "I wanted to thank you for the other day, when you stopped me from killing Voldemort. I wasn't in my right mind."  
  
"Who in their right mind *wouldn't* want to kill Voldemort?" joked Sirius. "It's all good." Then his expression turned more serious. "I remembered what you told me. That once you taste flesh, you are damned. I didn't want you to suffer because of *him*. I still don't understand how you did it, though."  
  
Remus sighed. "The wolf is always with me. I can become it when I wish, but I am forced into the change on the night of the full moon. Usually, I don't want to become it."  
  
Sirius nodded. The two stood there in silence for a few moments, before he asked "So what now?"  
  
"Well," said Remus, "my house is going to be kind of empty without my parents there. I was thinking maybe you could move in? And James and Lily too, of course, and maybe Peter, if he wants to."  
  
Sirius smiled and took Remus's hand, leading him away from the graveyard. "I think that's a brilliant idea."/  
  
*****************  
  
Sirius accepted the diploma jauntily, and like Rebecca turned and waved it at the crowd. Then, unexpectedly, he pulled out his wand and showered the graduates with fireworks. The crowd went crazy.  
  
"Mr. Black!" cried McGonagall, but she was smiling. She spoke on an aside to Dumbledore. "I never thought that I'd say this, but I think I'll miss their pranks."  
  
Dumbledore smiled dreamily. "I have a feeling we'll be seeing a lot more of them soon. And besides, there are always their children to look forward to."  
  
*****************  
  
/Lily, James, Remus and Sirius walked into Dumbledore's office warily and looked around. Arabella and Mundungus were already present, sitting on one of the plush couches. Another figure was there too, hidden in the shadows.  
  
"Let's get down to business now that we're all here, shall we?" said Dumbledore in that eternally cheerful way of his.  
  
"I have heard about your recent adventures…"  
  
Lily gasped and flushed, while the others just stood there looking shocked.  
  
"…. and seeing how you are already neck-deep in the affairs of Voldemort, I'll give you a chance to continue your excellent work. Let me be frank. Voldemort is terrorizing our world, and while the ministry claims they have people working on him, many of them are either incompetent or else under his influence. We need real agents, brilliant people who are really committed to the cause. Therefore, I have created my own secret order- the anti-Death Eaters, as I like to call it, but formally known as the Order of the Phoenix; named after Fawkes here."  
  
The phoenix puffed proudly and preened his feathers.  
  
"I would like to ask all of you to join. Make no mistake. It will be hard. It will be perhaps the most dangerous thing that you have ever done. But the rewards will be beyond your imagination- the knowledge that you have saved millions of innocent lives. Are you willing? You have the right to say no, and I will not hold it against you."  
  
The friends shared a glance with each other. They remembered how much they had been through, and between them a secret agreement was reached.  
  
"You can count us all in," said James.  
  
"Us, too," added Mundungus.  
  
"What about you, Severus?" Dumbledore addressed the figure in the shadows.  
  
Severus Snape stepped into the light. "I am committed, headmaster."  
  
"What?!" cried Lily. "You can't let him join! He's a…a…"  
  
"A Death Eater, " finished Dumbledore. "Yes, Lily, I know. He has told me everything."  
  
"After I heard what happened to you, I realized that I'd done wrong, Lily. I am truly sorry," said Snape solemnly.  
  
Hesitantly, Lily nodded.  
  
"I figured I could redeem myself. I have agreed to become a spy for Dumbledore, " he continued.  
  
"That's dangerous business," cautioned Lily.  
  
"It's the least I can do."  
  
"Wait a second," interrupted Sirius, "I don't understand. I thought Voldemort was dead."  
  
"Obviously, you thought wrong," scoffed Snape, reverting back to his normal moody self.  
  
Sirius, however, refrained from answering him in Dumbledore's presence.  
  
"Voldemort has been spotted. Right now, he's in Russia," explained Dumbledore.  
  
"I knew it was too easy," sighed James.  
  
"Take heart, James. What we are creating right here, right now, is extraordinary. We* will* defeat him." Dumbledore's blue eyes burned with an intense internal fire, and for a moment he looked someone to be reckoned with. But as quickly as it was there, it was gone, and he waved at a piece of parchment on his desk.  
  
"Sign here, if you please," he said, and offered them a phoenix feather quill. As Lily signed her name, the ink glowed briefly and then disappeared. The others followed suit, and when they were all finished the parchment burst into flames. The room around them seemed to catch fire, and then there was Fawkes, above them with his wings spread wide, showering the group with golden sparks.  
  
Then the room reverted back to normal, and Dumbledore was sitting behind his desk as if nothing happened.  
  
Lily felt a burning sensation on her forearm. She pulled back her sleeve, and right next to where the Death Eater mark had been, was a shimmering gold Phoenix tattoo. As it slowly faded away, Dumbledore said: "Welcome to the Order."/  
  
*****************  
  
After a few others had been called up, it was Lily's turn to receive her diploma.  
  
"Evans, Lily- who, might I add, is this year valedictorian," said Dumbledore proudly.  
  
"Lily!" cried James, Sirius, Remus and Peter simultaneously, scooping her into a giant group hug.  
  
Lily blushed as she fought her way through the hug good-naturedly, and made her way up to the stage.  
  
Professor McGonagall handed Lily her diploma. "No one deserved Valedictorian more than you," she said warmly.  
  
"Thank you," answered Lily. When she turned to wave her diploma at the audience, Hagrid was there behind the crowd, waving his pink umbrella back at her.  
  
"Congratulations, Hagrid," she mouthed at him.  
  
"Congratulations," he mouthed back.  
  
*****************  
  
/1 "Lily," said Professor Dumbledore seriously, as she sat alone in his office, "are you adept at foretelling?"  
  
Lily was a little taken aback. "Well, I wouldn't know, professor. I've never taken divination. I've always thought it was a bunch of hogwash."  
  
"I see," said Dumbledore mildly. "Then let me ask you this: have you ever just known something? And you didn't know why?"  
  
Lily gasped. It was true. She had told James just the same thing on Christmas Eve- that she knew he would die if he came after her. And her premonition had almost come true.  
  
Dumbledore nodded knowingly. "Now. What am I thinking?"  
  
"What?!"  
  
"Just try. Clear your mind and concentrate."  
  
Lily, despite her misgivings, closed her eyes and obeyed. As she cleared her mind, she suddenly felt the world come into sharp focus, as if she had just put on a pair of glasses- and her eyes weren't even open. But she wasn't seeing with her real eyes. It was almost if- as if she was feeling. It came to her that in order to see what Dumbledore was thinking, she had to open her eyes.  
  
She did. Thoughts bombarded her mind, thoughts not her own, until one screamed blatantly at her.  
  
"I wish I had some chocolate frogs," she said.  
  
What Dumbledore saw in that moment was simply extraordinary. Her eyes, when she opened them for the second time, were a dazzling green. They were lit up intensely, as if someone had switched a searchlight on behind them, and were even too bright to look at.  
  
And then she closed her eyes, and reverted back to her normal appearance.  
  
"Was I right?" she asked earnestly.  
  
"Yes, you were absolutely correct, Lily."  
  
She sighed. "What does that mean?"  
  
"It means you are a seer."  
  
"But Professor Trelawaney…"  
  
"Not an ordinary seer, Ms. Evans," Dumbledore interrupted her. "I should say, you are *the* seer. I always suspected because of your eyes, but your talent has not developed until now."  
  
"My eyes?"  
  
"A brilliant green. Such seers normally have bright green eyes. Only one of them can exist in the world at a time, you know."  
  
"But I'm of Muggle parentage! How can I have these powers?"  
  
"The seer gene is usually passed down through the family line, true. However, the last seer died without children- I knew her personally. Usually when this happens, the gift is transferred to whomever it chooses. You don't choose it, you understand. It chooses you. It is not something you can cast a spell for, or practice for. It is naturally inbred."  
  
"Oh," said Lily, still not quite comprehending what Dumbledore was telling her.  
  
"This means, Lily, that you are a lot more powerful than your average witch. *A lot* more powerful."  
  
"So that's what Voldemort was talking about!" Lily blurted, and immediately regretted it.  
  
"Yes," said Dumbledore calmly, "that is what he was talking about. I'm glad that you didn't succumb to him, Lily."  
  
"So…what now?" asked Lily.  
  
"Well," he answered slowly, "that is entirely up to you."/  
  
*****************  
  
"Lupin, Remus," called Dumbledore. While Remus had not graduated top of the class, he still did quite well for himself, considering all the hurdles that he had to overcome. Today was a very special day for Remus. Only eight years ago, it had seemed he would never have had this opportunity-and then Dumbledore had come along, and here he was. He only wished his parents were here to see it.  
  
"Hey," said Sirius, nudging him gently in the ribs. "Don't go getting all teary-eyed now; you gotta get your diploma!"  
  
Remus smiled as Sirius hugged him. "Yeah, you're right."  
  
James smiled. "Congratulations," he said sincerely, giving him a short, quick hug.  
  
Peter shook his hand, and Lily also gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Go get 'em, tiger," she laughed.  
  
Remus accepted the diploma from McGonagall, just as professional as always. "Always so serious, Mr. Lupin," she said. "I must say, you impressed me very much over the past few years. If people knew nothing about your kind, and met you, I'm sure they would wonder what all the fuss is about."  
  
"Thank you, professor," he said, and turned and waved at the crowd.  
  
After Remus went up, a few others were called, including Peter. A lot of people had thought Peter would never make it through school, but he had, much to their surprise. This day was important to him as well.  
  
James was the last of the Marauders to get his diploma, but definitely not the least.  
  
"Potter, James- Gryffindor prefect and captain of the Gryffindor house Quidditch team," called Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling.  
  
About a dozen people barreled his way, including the Marauders and the Quidditch team members. The hug was so tight that he could barely breathe. "Thank you, everyone," he laughed.  
  
"We love you, Jamsie!" cried Sirius, a mischievous grin on his face.  
  
"*I* love you," Lily said seriously.  
  
"I love you as well," he smiled.  
  
"No fair," cried Remus. "You can't have him all to yourself!"  
  
"Yeah!" enjoined Sirius.  
  
"Be quiet," said James with a grin as he battled his way up to the platform.  
  
To his surprise, Dumbledore was the one who handed him his diploma. "Job well done, Mr. Potter. Job well done," he said.  
  
"Thank you," said James, grateful for the special attention. "This isn't goodbye, you know."  
  
"I know," said Dumbledore. "If the fates be with us, there will never come a time when we will have to say goodbye."  
  
James nodded, and he, like the others, waved at the crowd. A great round of cheers went up, including the Marauders: "Prongs!" and Hagrid, with his pink umbrella.  
  
Soon the time had come for Lily to make her speech.  
  
Lily ascended the platform and took the podium, nervously fiddling with the paper she had written her speech on. "We live in difficult times," she began shakily, and the crowd went immediately into a hush. "Many of us have lost someone precious to us over these past few years. One of my best friends lost his parents to the senseless violence that plagues our days and haunts our nights." Her voice picked up volume and confidence. "But here, today, is the future. As we graduate, we should look to the day when He will be gone, but we should also remember those who d us. Because, who is to know when we will ever see them again? If something should happen to them?  
  
"In Hogwarts, we have learned to turn teacups into frogs, to create a sleeping potion, to distinguish grindylows and kappas. But more importantly, we have learned to cooperate, to make friends, to love. And whether we realize it or not, it is these more important lessons that will guarantee us a peaceful future.  
  
"So, I will end this speech with these words: The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love, and be loved in return."  
  
The crowd was quiet for a few moments after she ended, and then burst into cheers.  
  
Lily grinned and ran back to her seat.  
  
"That was beautiful," observed Remus.  
  
"Thank you," she said.  
  
Dumbledore took the podium again. "I proudly present the Hogwarts graduating class of 1978!" he cried.  
  
The crowd went crazy, yelling and throwing their hats into the air, chanting the class number over and over again.  
  
"Lily," James cried over the ruckus, "I've been meaning to ask you something."  
  
"What?" she screamed back.  
  
And much to Lily's surprise, he dropped to one knee before her, a ring box in his hand.  
  
"Will you marry me?"  
  
Lily's hands flew to her face. "James!" she yelled. "It's beautiful!" The diamond ring, cut in the traditional way and set in a golden band, blinded her in the noon light.  
  
"Well?"  
  
"YES! Of course I will!" she cried. She drew James to his feet and threw her arms around his neck, hugging him close, oblivious to the rest of the class.  
  
To Lily and James, the future was looking very bright indeed.  
  
*****************  
  
~FINI~  
  
*****************  
  
A/N: I don't believe it…it's the end. This was my very first story, and now it's finished *sniff sniff.* Err…hope the ending wasn't too corny.  
  
But don't worry! I'm definitely doing another. I have a few ideas for MWPP in mind. It'll either be one that takes place right after this one, and centers mainly on James, with the birth of Harry and the Potter's death. Or it'll be a Remus- focused story, right after the Potter's death, while he travels to Romania.  
  
I'm also thinking of taking a whole different view from this story and making Lily…a Slytherin! (Dun dun dun). Review and tell me which one you'd like best! (And thank you for all the reviews, especially the supportive ones that I've been getting lately. I'm getting teary-eyed….I'll miss you guys! Thanks!) Also any closing remarks? REVIEW!  
  
Hey, if ya can't wait one more second for more (which I doubt…LOL) check out "I'm Sorry," an HP fic that takes place in Harry's time which I have out now. BTW, does anyone know how to upload italics? Originally I was gonna have the flashbacks in italics, but it didn't work.  
  
Well…until later! It was a good run! Cheers !~Lady Evenstar 


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